The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be a landmark event in the history of the tournament, with 48 international teams set to compete for the first time
The United States, Mexico and Canada are scheduled to host the World Cup โ marking the first-ever time it has been staged by three different countries.
Reigning champions Argentina are among the bookmakersโ favourites to retain the trophy after impressing during the previous tournament in Qatar.
Read on as we preview the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
2026 World Cup โ Teams
One-third of the teams at the tournament will be European, with UEFA supplying 16 of the 48 nations who will compete.
Teams from CAF (9), AFC (8) CONCACAF (6), CONMEBOL (6), OFC (1) and two play-off winners will make up the rest of the tournament.
The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place in December 2025 once all the qualifying fixtures have been completed.
2026 World Cup โ Groups
The 48 teams will be split into 12 groups of four, with the top two in each progressing to the knockout phase.
The eight best third-placed teams will also feature in the round of 32. The winners of each game will go through to the last-16.
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final follow, while the third-place play-off match will take the total number of games to 104.
2026 World Cup โ Odds
The World Cup is always one of the biggest betting events in the sporting calendar, generating a ton of interest with online bookmakers.
Several of the top casino sites listed at haz-tayeb.com/en/ also have associated sportsbooks where punters can wager before and during the World Cup.
The latest odds show there is little to choose between several former winners of the tournament, and it would be no surprise to see one of them emerge victorious:
- France – 9/2
- Brazil – 6/1
- England – 8/1
- Argentina – 9/1
- Germany – 10/1
- Spain – 10/1
- Portugal – 14/1
- Netherlands – 16/1
- Italy – 20/1
- Belgium – 33/1
- United States โ 33/1
- Uruguay – 40/1
- Mexico โ 50/1
- Bar โ 66/1
2026 World Cup โ Broadcasters
Every minute of the World Cup will be broadcast live on television. Live streams have also become hugely popular in recent times. Here are some of the best places to watch the tournament.
- Brazil โ TV Globo, SporTV
- Bulgaria โ NOVA
- Bosnia and Herzegovina โ BHRT, MY TV
- Canada โ CTV, TSN, RDS
- Denmark โ DR, TV2
- Finland โ YLE, MTV
- Norway โ NRK, TV2
- Sweden โ SVT, TV4
- United Kingdom โ BBC, ITV
- United States โ Fox, Telemundo
2026 World Cup โ Preview
Predicting a winner this far in advance is an impossible task, with the form of the fancied teams likely to fluctuate over the next three years.
However, it will likely pay dividends to focus on the former winners as only eight teams have ever got their hands on the prestigious trophy.
Brazil lead the way with five wins, while Germany and Italy have each won it four times. Argentinaโs success in 2022 was their third World Cup title.
France (2) and Uruguay (2) are next on the list, while England and Spain complete the roll of honour with one win apiece.
Argentina were worthy winners in Qatar, but will be without their talismanic captain Lionel Messi when the 2026 tournament is staged.
Brazil have not won the tournament since 2002, but have an excellent crop of emerging talents ready to jump into the senior team.
France, Germany and Spain will all be competitive, with the latter expected to fare best given the likely strength of their squad.
England are third favourites with the bookmakers, but they generally fail to deliver at major tournaments and make zero appeal from a betting perspective.
Brazil lifted the trophy the last time it was staged in North America and could be tough to stop in their quest to record a sixth World Cup success.