The 2022 World Cup is over. The stars have shone, the shock results have shown that football is truly a global game, some new names have emerged and, at the end of it all, Argentina lifted their third World Cup (though really, the story is Lionel Messi winning his first at the fifth attempt in a glittering career).
But with Qatar 2022 now consigned to history, and just 3½ years to go until the next World Cup is staged in the United States, Mexico and Canada, it’s time to look ahead to how that tournament will play out with some way-too-early predictions for 2026.
– World Cup 2022: News and features | Bracket | Results
P.S.: If you think it is too soon, why not check out our way-too-early predictions for 2022 from four years ago?
No big nations will miss out
Every World Cup takes place with at least one heavyweight nation having failed to qualify: Italy have missed out in 2018 and 2022, while Colombia, Chile and Egypt were also absent from Qatar 2022. But with the 2026 World Cup expanding from 32 to 48 competing nations, it will become harder to miss out than actually qualify for most powerhouse teams.
– What the World Cup will look like in 2026
Europe will get three extra spots and South America another two, with an extra four places each for Asia and Africa. Hosts USA, Mexico and Canada will qualify automatically, but there will still be another three qualifiers from CONCACAF, meaning it would take a really bad qualification campaign to miss out in 2026.
