Originally posted by: Savera84
FIFA rethinks 2026 format after thrilling Qatar group games.
Doha: Having just delivered arguably the most exciting group stage ever seen at a World Cup, FIFA now faces the prospect of ripping it all up.
The Qatar group stages saw a tried and tested format keep hundreds of millions of fans enthralled until the very last match.
Reform of the group system mooted before the 2024 event would see the current formula ripped up and replaced by a turgid fortnight of drab games and dead rubbers as the governing body tries to accommodate 48 teams in the 2026 tournament.
FIFA’s plan to have 16 groups of three teams in the first phase, with two from each advancing to the next stage, now look dangerously dull, as well as potentially courting unsporting behaviour.
As things stand now for 2026, when Canada, Mexico and the US host the World Cup, there’s a risk of ‘dead’ matches involving two teams that have already qualified – or, worse, contrived results.
FIFA conceded earlier this year it was concerned about the possibility of contrived results where two teams could engineer a result that would eliminate the third group team.
The 2026 format has the 48 teams reduced to 32 after the group phase after which the tournament becomes a knockout affair.
Alternative formats are now on the table, with the FIFA Council, the organisation’s all-powerful cabinet, to decide next year.
It doesn't work either way. Four team groups were interesting because two teams were guaranteed to be knocked out. Allowing third placed teams through means that the table-toppers are all but guaranteed to be through by the end of the second game, and makes it incredibly difficult for all but the very worst teams to get knocked out. This proposal would have saved Germany and Belgium which would have made it far less interesting.
Three team groups were never going to work. To be perfectly honest there's no need to increase it to 48 teams but we all know why it is 💰
Just looking at how ref can be improved, we don’t want a repeat of the farce of Argentina vs Netherlands or other obvious mistakes affecting the outcome, given that pulling a player down in the area may, or may not be given and no clear indication of why it was ignored.
Will the referees be better for that tournament and VAR more consistent and with a slightly wider scope for free kicks just outside the box
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