2026 World Cup: 5 Facts That Will Change History

June 8, 2026 2 min readPrediPick

The FIFA 2026 World Cup will not be just another tournament. With its joint organization shared among Mexico, the United States, and Canada, an expanded format of 48 teams, and geographical records spanning deserts, mountains, and metropolises, this event promises to rewrite the history books of football. Below, we present five curiosities of the 2026 World Cup that make it the most revolutionary of all time.

1. Three Countries, One Championship: The Historic Triple Host

For the first time in history, the World Cup will be organized by three different nations. Until now, the record was held by Japan and South Korea in 2002. In 2026, the will span three time zones (Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern in the U.S.; Central in Mexico; and Mountain in Canada), forcing FIFA to coordinate match times ranging from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., depending on location.

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Specific fact: Of the 16 official venues, 11 are in the United States, 3 in Mexico (Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey), and 2 in Canada (Toronto and Vancouver). This makes the 2026 World Cup the tournament with the greatest geographical dispersion in history.

What does this mean for fans?

Fans will need to plan trips that may include flights of up to 6 hours between host cities. For example, from Vancouver (Canada) to Mexico City there are over 4,000 kilometers. FIFA has already announced there will be fan zones in each country to facilitate logistics.

2. The Largest Format in History: 48 Teams and 104 Matches

Another curiosity of the 2026 World Cup is the format change. For the first time since 1998, the number of teams increases from 32 to 48. This means 104 matches in total (compared to 64 in 2022), spread over 39 days of competition.