2026 World Cup. Disclosure/FIFA The 2026 World Cup starts this week and will make history before the ball even rolls. In addition to being the main competition in world football, this will be the largest edition ever held, with a new format that expands the number of participants to 48 teams — 16 more than in the 2022 World Cup. 📱Bookmark g1 on Google and follow the main news of the day Neymar undergoes exams, and CBF speaks of "good evolution" With so many new teams, some countries not so well known in football qualified, many of them making their first appearance. Below, check out the complete list of participants. What are all the teams in the 2026 World Cup? Africa South Africa Morocco Ivory Coast Tunisia Egypt Cape Verde Senegal Algeria Democratic Republic of the Congo Ghana North, Central America and the Caribbean Mexico Canada Haiti Curacao United States Panama South America Brazil Paraguay Ecuador Uruguay Argentina Colombia Asia Republic of Korea Qatar Japan Islamic Republic of Iran Saudi Arabia Iraq Jordan Uzbekistan Europe Czech Republic Bosnia and Herzegovina Switzerland Scotland Türkiye Germany Netherlands Sweden Belgium Spain France Norway Austria Portugal England Croatia Oceania Australia New Zealand Now on g1 How does the new World Cup format work? With a greater number of teams, the format changed from the group stage to the knockout stage. Check it out: 48 teams, compared to 32 in the last World Cup; 12 groups of four teams each; classification of the two best in each group and the eight best third-placed teams; creation of an extra knockout phase before the round of 16; increase in total games from 64 to 104. With the new structure, the champion will need to play eight matches to lift the cup. In the Qatar Cup, seven were needed. The change is part of FIFA's strategy to expand the participation of countries and make the World Cup more global. READ ALSO: See when Brazil's games are and who the opponents are Which cities will host the games? See when the tournament starts and ends