The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico took place on Friday, December 5, in Washington, DC.
It will be the first World Cup with 48 teams, which in itself dilutes the quality of the tournament. That is just one of the bad World Cup changes that we are about to see in the coming years from the world football federation.
Why Simplicity Is Good
Football is the world’s most popular sport due in large part to its simplicity. The World Cup, meanwhile, is the poster child competition of the Beautiful Game. It, too, with perhaps the exceptions of the 1950 and 1974 editions of the tournament, which FIFA needlessly complicated, have had straightforward formats that were easy to follow.
Certainly, from 1998, when the World Cup was expanded to 32 teams, it made it so that there were exactly two teams from each of the then eight groups that advanced to the knockout stages, which began in the Round of 16, and was simple to follow; the format made a lot of sense.
The above-mentioned expansion to 48 sides, with its 12 groups, is again an unequal number of teams per section advancing to the knockout stages, which now begin at the Round of 32. The increase in matches will also make it much more difficult for fans to follow it all.
How FIFA’s Bad World Cup Changes Are Destroying the Tournament in the Future
That does not even mention the bad World Cup changes that FIFA are planning for the two global tournaments following 2026. For example, in 2030, the world football governing body plan to hold the tournament in six countries, spanning three different continents.
Needless to say, this is a totally unnecessary logistical nightmare, which will put an undue burden on the players travelling from South America, where the tournament is set to begin, to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, where it will continue and ultimately conclude.
Then there is the 2034 World Cup, set to take place in Saudi Arabia, where a summer tournament is impossible; therefore, it will have to be played during the winter, and will thus cause issues with the European club season, as it did with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Current Odds to Become Top European Scorer This Season
How a Complex Draw Also Destroys the 2026 Edition
First of all, the draw will be made before the last six nations to qualify are even known.
FIFA have decided to put all six of them in Pot 4, regardless of who qualifies.
So, for example, the winner of the European playoff A, regardless if it is Italy, Bosnia, Wales, or Northern Ireland, they go into the pot, otherwise reserved for the lowest-ranked teams that qualify.
This ensures that the groups will not be balanced in terms of quality.
Another one of the bad World Cup changes that applies to the draw is the fact that Spain, Argentina, France, and England, the four best teams according to the FIFA rankings, cannot play each other before the semifinals, assuming they all win their groups.
This gives these teams another advantage, making the types of Cinderella stories in the World Cup, which fans have come to love so much about the tournament, much less likely.
FIFA have gotten oblivious to the fact that their proposed changes are ruining the World Cup and the sport as a whole.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Light Studio Agency
Recording Date: 04.12.2025
