The 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup is the biggest and most historic in the nearly 100-year history of the tournament. Many records have been set in this edition even before the start of the tournament.The biggest ever FIFA World Cup football tournament begins today
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The 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup 2026 will begin tonight in North America with the opening match between Mexico and South Africa.
For the first time in history, this World Cup, which will be held in three countries, will feature a record 48 teams playing 104 matches.
This time, the total prize money for the FIFA World Cup has been increased to 655 million US dollars, of which the winner will receive 50 million dollars.
28 Jestha, Kathmandu. Football is the most popular game in the world, i.e. the universal game. The fact that more than 200 countries in the world play football also confirms the popularity of this game.
The popularity of football has spread all over the world. It is no wonder that such a game has a World Cup. The FIFA World Cup 2026 is all the rage right now. The biggest World Cup of the game is starting tonight in North America.
Mexico will play South Africa in the opening match in front of their home fans at the historic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The match will start at 12:45 midnight Nepali time.
The biggest fair in world football, let alone the biggest competition in world sports and the most prestigious football competition watched by many and connected to the feelings of billions of fans around the world, is the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup. The official start of the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be after co-host Mexico hosts South Africa at home.
Thousands of players from all over the world are currently gathering in the United States, Mexico and Canada for the World Cup. For that, millions of spectators are ready to watch the games live, while millions of viewers are ready to enjoy football live through various means.
And 48 teams are preparing for this football mega-event with the same dream of winning the FIFA World Cup trophy.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is not just another edition of the World Cup. This is also becoming the biggest and grandest World Cup in football history.
A big and historic World Cup
The 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup is the biggest and most historic in the nearly 100-year history of the FIFA World Cup. Many records have been set in this edition even before the World Cup begins. Now that the World Cup has begun, football players can add more records on the field.
This time the World Cup has become special for many reasons. From the number of teams to the number of matches, there has been an increase in technology in the World Cup.
In this sense, this World Cup is big in that this time the most teams are participating.
The main feature of this time is that the most 48 countries are participating in the World Cup so far. The 39-day FIFA World Cup 2026 will be held in three North American countries, the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
For the first time in the 96-year history of the FIFA World Cup, which began in Uruguay in 1930, three countries have become joint hosts.
Similarly, the number of teams has increased from 32 to 48, and a record 104 matches are being played in a single World Cup. Which is 40 more matches than the Qatar World Cup.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 will feature the largest number of 16 nations from Europe, followed by 10 from Africa and 9 from Asia. 6 each from North and South America and one team from the Oceania region will be playing the World Cup.
With the increase in the number of teams, the number of players has also increased to 1,248 this time.
This is the final squad of 48 nations playing the FIFA World Cup 2026
In which there are 22 players who have previously won the World Cup and 357 players who have played the World Cup at least once. Similarly, 981 players are ready to experience the FIFA World Cup for the first time.
The matches will be held in 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. This event is seen as the beginning of a new era in the history of world football.
The World Cup returns to North America after three decades
The FIFA World Cup has returned to North America after three decades. This time, not one, but two, not three countries have jointly hosted the World Cup. The last time the World Cup was held in North America (America) was in 1994. Before that, Mexico hosted the World Cup in 1986. This time, Canada has also become the host along with these two countries and Canada is hosting the men’s World Cup for the first time.
Overall, Mexico is hosting the World Cup for the third time, the United States for the second time, and Canada for the first time. And the North American role is also very important for the South American team.
Participating teams and format
This time, the 48 participating teams in the World Cup have been divided into 12 different groups. Each group has 4 teams. First, there will be a group stage match. Each group will have 6 matches and there will be a total of 72 matches in the group stage. After that, the top two teams from all 12 groups will enter the knockout stage, i.e. the round of 32, while the best 8 third-placed teams will also make it to the knockout stage.
This time, the number of teams in the group has also increased from 8 to 12, and the knockout stage has also been added. The new round added this time is the round of 32.
With the addition of the knockout stage, the finalists will now have to play one more match than before, meaning the finalists will play 8 matches.
After the Round of 32, the finals will be played through pre-quarterfinals, quarterfinals, semifinals, and then the final. There will be a total of 32 matches, including the final, in the knockout stage.
