How does the World Cup actually work?

Qualification runs for roughly two to three years across six regional confederations, each allocated a number of berths, with the host nation or nations qualifying automatically. The finals tournament then splits into two phases. In the group stage, teams are drawn into groups and play each team in their group once, earning three points for a win and one for a draw, with the top finishers advancing. The knockout phase that follows is single elimination, with extra time and then a penalty shootout to resolve draws, running through the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final.

The 2026 edition changed the format substantially, expanding from 32 to 48 teams and adding a round of 32 to the knockout phase, with matches hosted across the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The expansion increased berths for confederations outside Europe and South America, which was the principal argument for it, against criticism that it dilutes the group stage. The tournament is held every four years, and the women's World Cup follows its own cycle offset by two years and has expanded on a similar trajectory.

Two points of context. Brazil has won the men's tournament more than any other nation, and European and South American teams have won every edition, which is part of what the expansion debate is about. And hosting has become contentious: awards to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022 drew sustained scrutiny over the bidding process and, in Qatar's case, over migrant worker conditions during construction, prompting reporting that documented substantial worker deaths and reform commitments whose implementation has been debated. The economics of hosting follow the pattern of large sporting events generally, with construction costs frequently exceeding projections and long-run benefits proving harder to demonstrate than bid documents promise.