In an exciting announcement, the United States, Mexico, and Canada have been awarded the opportunity to co-host the 2026 World Cup. This will be the first time in history that the World Cup will be jointly hosted by three countries.

The tournament will feature a total of 48 teams, a significant expansion from the current format. The host nations, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, are exempt from the qualifying process as hosts.

The World Cup matches will be played in various cities across these three nations. In the United States, the host cities will include Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle. Meanwhile, in Mexico, the matches will take place in Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey. In Canada, the host cities will be Toronto and Vancouver.

The tournament will kick off with 12 groups, each consisting of four teams. Following the qualification round, each team will play against each other once, with three points awarded for a win and one point for a draw. This format differs greatly from the previous World Cups, which featured 32 teams divided into eight groups of four.

In the expanded format of the 2026 World Cup, the top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-place teams, will advance to the knockout rounds. This means that a larger number of teams will have the opportunity to progress further in the tournament, intensifying the competition.

The U.S., while having hosted World Cup matches previously in 1994, has yet to secure a championship title. The country's best achievements were reaching the quarterfinals during the 1930 tournament in Uruguay and the 2002 tournament in South Korea.

The joint hosting of the 2026 World Cup by the United States, Mexico, and Canada is certain to bring the game's pinnacle event to all corners of North America. Football fans can eagerly anticipate a tournament filled with surprises, intense rivalries, and the chance to witness history in the making.