User:Bongvindaloo/sandbox

The 2026 FIFA World Cup (Copa Mundial de la FIFA de 2026; Coupe du monde de la FIFA de 2026) will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries; 60 matches, including the quarterfinals, semi-finals, and the final, will be hosted by the United States while neighboring Canada and Mexico will each host 10 matches. The tournament will be the first hosted by three nations. This tournament will be the first to include 48 teams, expanded from 32.

The United 2026 bid beat a rival bid by Morocco during a final vote at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow. It will be the first World Cup since 2002 that will be hosted by more than one nation, and the first by more than two. With its past hosting of the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, Mexico will become the first country to host or co-host the men's World Cups three times. The United States last hosted the World Cup in 1994, whereas it will be Canada's first time hosting or co-hosting the men's tournament.

Qualification
This edition was the first to feature 48 national teams. As such, due to the increased number of spots, 7 national teams made their FIFA World Cup debut (Uzbekistan, Jordan, Guinea, Mali, Cape Verde, Curaçao, and North Macedonia). Iraq, DR Congo, and Wales also made their first appearance after multiple decades.

AFC (8)
 * 🇦🇺 australia
 * 🇮🇷 iran
 * 🇯🇵 japan
 * 🇰🇷 south korea
 * 🇺🇿 uzbekistan
 * 🇮🇶 iraq
 * 🇯🇴 jordan
 * 🇯🇴 jordan

CAF (9)
 * 🇳🇬 nigeria
 * 🇲🇦 morocco
 * 🇸🇳 senegal
 * 🇹🇳 tunisia
 * 🇪🇬 egypt
 * 🇬🇳 guinea
 * 🇲🇱 mali
 * 🇨🇻 cape verde
 * 🇨🇻 cape verde

CONCACAF (7)
 * 🇨🇦 canada (hosts)
 * 🇺🇸 united states (hosts)
 * 🇲🇽 mexico (hosts)
 * 🇯🇲 jamaica
 * 🇵🇦 panama
 * 🇨🇼 curaçao
 * 🇸🇻 el salvador

CONMEBOL (7)
 * 🇦🇷 argentina
 * 🇧🇷 brazil
 * 🇨🇴 colombia
 * 🇵🇪 peru
 * 🇪🇨 ecuador
 * 🇧🇴 bolivia
 * 🇧🇴 bolivia

OFC (1)
 * 🇳🇿 new zealand

UEFA (16)
 * 🇧🇪 belgium
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 england
 * 🇮🇹 italy
 * 🇩🇪 germany
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 wales
 * 🇫🇷 france
 * 🇳🇴 norway
 * 🇲🇰 macedonia
 * 🇸🇪 sweden
 * 🇵🇱 poland
 * 🇷🇸 serbia
 * 🇸🇪 sweden
 * 🇵🇱 poland
 * 🇷🇸 serbia
 * 🇷🇸 serbia

Draw
With the format of 16 groups of 3 teams each, there are 3 pots of 16 teams each.