Why does the United States men’s team not have qualifying games for the 2026 World Cup?

It was only a matter of months ago when the sporting community was engrossed on the action in Qatar, which culminated in Lionel Messi’s Argentina beating Kylian Mbappé's France in the showpiece 2023 World Cup final. Despite that, international teams are already eyeing a place in the next edition.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first tournament featuring 48 teams split in 16 groups of three. The venues for the 2026 World Cup are known, with 16 host cities spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico. And it was confirmed earlier this year, fairly unsurprisingly, that the three host nations would automatically qualify for the tournament. This marks the first instance in which three host teams have been set aside from qualifying.

So, while other nations around the globe are battling it out to secure their place in the finals, the three hosts are lining up friendlies to keep themselves focused and plan out their respective strategies.

How many teams in World Cup 2026?

As stated, the tournament will grow from 32 teams to 48, with an additional three berths awarded to CONCACAF nations through the typical qualification process. Here’s how FIFA announced it:

“In addition, the FIFA Council confirmed that, in line with the long-standing tradition of having all hosts competing at the FIFA World Cup, as well as sporting and operational considerations, the hosts of the FIFA World Cup 2026, namely Canada, Mexico and the USA, will qualify automatically for the final round of the competition, with their slots therefore being deducted from the overall allocation of six assigned to CONCACAF.”

The 11 US cities awarded hosting duties are Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle.

Mexico and Canada

Mexican cities Mexico City and Guadalajara are set to host the World Cup for the third time (1970 and 1986), while Monterrey was chosen for the second time. In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver will host games in the 2026 edition of the tournament.

What is the new format for 2026 World Cup?

Each team will play two group stage games, with the 1st and 2nd-place finishers advancing to the round of 32.

With 16 additional teams, one round of group stage games will be eliminated and replaced by an additional round in the knockout rounds. In the new format, the total number of matches in the World Cup will increase from 64 in 2022 to 80 in 2026. Just think of all that extra advertising space.

Do the World Cup holders qualify automatically?

It’s worth noting that Argentina, as the reigning champions of the World Cup, do not qualify automatically. Messi and co. will fight for their place in the CONMEBOL region against Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

If this news surprises you, that’s understandable. The holders did previously get an automatic place between 1938 and 2002. Then the rules were changed and since the 2006 edition the team that won four years before had to earn the right to play in the finals again, Brazil being the first nation affected.