This is the largest World Cup ever staged. Forty eight nations have qualified and they have been drawn into 12 groups of four teams each. The top two from every group advance automatically to the round of 32. The remaining slots go to the third placed teams with the best results. Sixteen teams go home after the group stage.
Winning a match earns three points. A draw gives both sides one point. A loss gets zero. Matches last 90 minutes split into two 45 minute halves with a 15 minute break. The clock never stops but extra minutes are added at the end for injuries and water breaks. There are no penalty shootouts during the group stage. After that tied matches go to 30 minutes of extra time. If still level it goes to penalties.
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Mexico hosts matches in Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Mexico City. Canada has Toronto and Vancouver. The US spreads games across Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle.
France and Spain enter as strong favourites. France have Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé leading a stacked squad. Spain bank on 18 year old Lamine Yamal to deliver a second major trophy in two years. England carry the pain of back to back European final losses and remain dangerous. Brazil chase a sixth title and their first since 2002.
Mbappé is appearing at his third World Cup. He has already won one and lost one final. Yamal represents the future. Lionel Messi turns 39 this month and Cristiano Ronaldo is 41. This is likely their final dance on the biggest stage. Other names to track include Neymar, Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham, Christian Pulisic, Alphonso Davies, Son Heung-min, Antoine Semenyo, and Erling Haaland.
Four nations will make their World Cup debut. Curaçao becomes the smallest nation ever to qualify with just 156,000 people. Cape Verde with about 500,000 is the third smallest in tournament history. Jordan earned their first qualification under head coach Jamal Sellami. Uzbekistan round out the debutants led by Italian legend Fabio Cannavaro.
Some matches carry deeper weight. France and Senegal meet on 16 June framed by colonial history. Senegal famously upset France in 2002. Ghana and England play in Philadelphia on 23 June. Iran and Egypt face off in Seattle in what locals dubbed the Pride match. Both nations formally objected given their laws on same sex relations. Iran also enters the tournament while at war with co host US. They will base in Mexico and commute to American stadiums. Haiti return for the first time since 1974 and Scotland come back after 28 years.
