biggest fifa world cup So far, with records 48 teams He is on track to complete a record 104 games across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The three host countries automatically qualified. defending champion Argentina is back, and four countries — Cape Verde; CuracaoJordan and Uzbekistan make their World Cup debuts.
Here’s what you need to know about the World Cup.
tournament format
— All teams are guaranteed three games in the group stage of the tournament. Teams are assigned to 12 different 4-team groups. The top two teams in each group and the top eight teams in the top three are guaranteed a place. The team that finishes 4th in the group will be eliminated.
— The 32 teams that survive after the group stage will participate in a single-elimination tournament, with one exception. The losing team in the semi-finals will advance to the third-place match the day before the World Cup final.
Tournament venue
— Group Stage: Atlanta; Foxboro, Massachusetts. Arlington, Texas. Guadalajara, Mexico. Houston. Kansas City; Inglewood, California. Mexico City; Miami Gardens, Florida; Monterrey, Mexico. East Rutherford, New Jersey. Philadelphia; Santa Clara, California. Seattle; Toronto; and Vancouver.
— Round of 32: Foxborough, East Rutherford, Inglewood, Toronto, Santa Clara, Seattle, Houston, Arlington, Mexico City, Atlanta, Miami Gardens, Vancouver, Kansas City.
— Round of 16: Vancouver, Atlanta, Mexico City, East Rutherford, Seattle, Arlington, Houston, Philadelphia.
— Quarterfinals: Foxboro, Inglewood, Miami Gardens, Kansas City.
— Semifinals: Atlanta, Arlington.
— Third place game: Miami Gardens.
— World Cup Final: East Rutherford.
Tournament schedule
— Group Stage: June 11th to June 27th
— Round of 32: June 28-July 3
— Round 16: July 4-7
— Quarterfinals: July 9th-11th
— Semi-finals: July 14th and 15th
— 3rd place match: July 18th
— World Cup Final: July 19th
Group breakdown
The current FIFA rankings are in parentheses to show which teams belong to which groups:
— Group A: Mexico (15), South Korea (25), Czech Republic (41), South Africa (60).
— Group B: Switzerland (19), Canada (30), Qatar (55), Bosnia and Herzegovina (65).
— Group C: Brazil (6), Morocco (8), Scotland (43), Haiti (83).
— Group D: USA (16), Türkiye (22), Australia (27), Paraguay (40).
— Group E: Germany (10), Ecuador (23), Ivory Coast (34), Curacao (82).
— Group F: Netherlands (7), Japan (18), Sweden (38), Tunisia (44).
— Group G: Belgium (9), Iran (21), Egypt (29), New Zealand (85).
— Group H: Spain (2), Uruguay (17), Saudi Arabia (61), Cape Verde (69).
— Group I: France (1), Senegal (14), Norway (31), Iraq (57).
— Group J: Argentina (3), Algeria (28), Austria (24), Jordan (63).
— Group K: Portugal (5), Colombia (13), Congo (46), Uzbekistan (50).
— Group L: England (4), Croatia (11), Panama (33), Ghana (74).
us schedule
World Cup group stage US schedule:
— June 12th vs. Paraguay in Inglewood, California.
— June 19th against Australia in Seattle.
— June 25 against Türkiye in Inglewood, California.
If the Americans win their group, a round of 32 match will be played July 1 in Santa Clara, California. If they finish second in their group, the event will take place on July 3 in Arlington, Texas. If they finish third in their group, they could advance.
Will Messi play?
Argentina captain Lionel Messi is considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of soccer, but he has not said with absolute certainty that he will play in the World Cup.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said in March that the decision was up to Messi, who won back-to-back MLS MVP titles after leading Inter Miami to the MLS Cup title last fall.
“I believe he has to be there for the sake of football,” Scaloni said. “But it’s not for me to decide. It’s up to him.”
There is no indication that Messi is not scheduled to play, but he has indicated his intention to play only if he is healthy.
era of parity
The last six World Cups have produced six different champions: Argentina in 2022, France in 2018, Germany in 2014, Spain in 2010, Italy in 2006 and Brazil in 2002.
Such a goal has never been conceded in the history of the World Cup.
Argentina is trying to do something that has eluded generations: winning back-to-back World Cups. The only countries to achieve this feat were Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962).
How to watch
— Fox Sports is the English-language home of the World Cup in the United States, with 70 games scheduled to be broadcast on Fox and another 34 on FS1. All games will be streamed live on Fox One and the Fox Sports app.
— Spanish-speaking viewers in the U.S. can now watch Telemundo and Universo on NBCUniversal.
— Some matches will also be available on Peacock, FuboTV, Hulu, YouTubeTV and DirecTV Stream.
betting odds
According to BetMGM Sportsbook, Spain (+450) is the favorite to win the World Cup, closely followed by France (+550), England (+650), Brazil (+800), Argentina (+800) and Portugal (+1000).
US odds are +4000.
The longest shot in the field? It’s Haiti and Curacao, both currently at +250,000. This means that if you bet $100 on either of these countries, you’ll get back $250,000 if they win the World Cup.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
