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This year's variation of the World Cup volition beryllium the biggest ever with an expanded tract of 48 teams, 3 big countries and 16 stadiums staging the grounds 104 matches implicit the 39-day tournament.
The tourney being held successful the United States, Canada and Mexico is the archetypal since FIFA expanded the tract from 32 teams to 48, adding 4 much groups successful the archetypal signifier and a caller circular of 32 successful the knockout portion.
The World Cup past expanded for the 1998 tourney with the past 7 editions featuring 32 teams and 64 games. This besides marks conscionable the 2nd clip that the tourney volition beryllium played successful aggregate countries with Japan and South Korea sharing the 2002 edition.
There volition beryllium 11 sites successful the United States, with 3 successful Mexico and 2 successful Canada. Mexico volition big 13 matches, including the opener successful Mexico City connected June 11 betwixt the big squad and South Africa and 3 successful the knockout rounds.
Canada volition besides person 13 matches with the archetypal coming betwixt the hosts and Bosnia-Herzegovina connected June 12 successful Toronto and 3 much successful the knockout round.
The remaining 78 volition beryllium successful the U.S. starting erstwhile the Americans instrumentality connected Paraguay connected June 12 successful the Los Angeles area, and including each the matches successful teh quarterfinals, semifinals and the last circular astatine MetLife Stadium successful New Jersey.
Here's a look astatine immoderate different stats to ticker during the 2026 World Cup:
1,248: There are a grounds 1,248 players connected the rosters coming from 449 home clubs successful 71 countries. There are 357 players with World Cup experience, alomng with 891 first-timers.
England leads the mode with 200 players connected rosters who are based determination astatine nine level. Germany is 2nd with 109, followed by France (86), Spain (86), Italy (71) and Saudi Arabia (49). Major League Soccer volition beryllium represented by a grounds 44 progressive players astatine the World Cup with 103 of the players having immoderate acquisition successful MLS.
Manchester City of the Premier League has the astir players of immoderate nine with a grounds of 19, followed by Bayern Munich with 18, Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal 16 and Barcelona with 15.
226: Portugal prima Cristiano Ronaldo leads each players successful the tourney with 226 caps — the astir ever by a azygous men's subordinate — arsenic helium is acceptable to articulation Argentina's Lionel Messi arsenic the lone players to look successful six World Cups.
Ronaldo is the lone subordinate to people successful 5 World Cups with 8 goals successful his 22 matches.
Messi has the astir vocation World Cup matches with 26 and needs 2 appearances to go the 3rd antheral with astatine slightest 200 caps (Bader Al-Mutawa, Kuwait, besides has much 200 appearances successful planetary play). Croatia's Luka Modric is 3 abbreviated of joining that group.
Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa is connected a World Cup roster for the sixth clip but didn't look successful a crippled successful 2006 oregon 2010.
16: Miroslav Klose's grounds of 16 vocation goals for Germany could jeopardy successful this year's edition. Messi comes into the tourney with 13 vocation goals, trailing lone Klose, Brazilian prima Ronaldo (15) and Gerd Muller (14). France's Kylian Mbappe is besides successful scope having scored 12 goals combined successful the past 2 tournaments 8: Only 8 countries person won the World Cup with six of those teams winning aggregate titles led by Brazil's five. The lone first-time winners successful the past 11 Cups came successful 1998 erstwhile France won the archetypal of its 2 titles and successful 2010 erstwhile Spain won it all.
2: Only 2 countries person repeated arsenic champions with Pele starring Brazil to titles successful 1958 and 62, and Italy winning it successful 1934 and '38. Three different defending champions made it to the rubric game, including France 4 years agone earlier losing to Argentina.
6: There person been six defending champions who failed to marque it retired of the radical stage, including successful 3 of the past 4 editions. France made it backmost to the last successful 2022 but Italy (2010), Spain (2014) and Germany (2018) each get eliminated earlier the knockout rounds.
3: France volition effort to go the 3rd region to marque it to 3 consecutive finals aft winning it successful 2018 and losing successful 2022. West Germany mislaid the last successful 1982 and '86 earlier beating Argentina successful 1990. Brazil had wins successful 1994 and 2002 astir a rubric crippled nonaccomplishment to France successful 1998.
23: Brazil is the lone state to look successful each 23 editions of the World Cup starting successful 1930 successful Uruguay. The Brazilians besides pb each countries with 76 wins, 237 goals and a plus-129 extremity differential. Germany is adjacent successful each 3 categories with 21 appearances, 232 goals and a plus-102 extremity differential, including 10 appearances arsenic West Germany earlier reunification.
4: There are 4 countries making their World Cup debuts with Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan the newcomers this clip around. That volition summation the full of countries to vie successful the World Cup to 84 all-time.
7: Egypt has played 7 World Cup matches without a win. The Egyptians are 0-5-2 and volition effort to interruption done starting June 15 against Belgium. The lone state with much games and nary wins is Honduras with nine. Honduras didn't suffice this year.
2,720: There person been 2,720 goals scored successful 964 matches successful the archetypal 22 World Cups. With the further 40 games, the grounds of 172 goals successful a tourney acceptable successful Qatar successful 2022 should beryllium broken. The grounds of 5.38 combined goals per crippled acceptable successful 1954 should beryllium safe.
25: There is much than 25 years separating the oldest subordinate from the youngest. Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon volition beryllium 43 years and 162 days aged connected the archetypal time of the tournament, portion Mexico's Gilbert Mora volition beryllium 17 years, 240 days old. (AP) TAP
