That’s debatable. The 7 matches will be closer together so I’d argue that it does put more strain on the players, albeit not by alot.
Good point. But according to you and others around here many of those matches will be less competitive and less difficult with all the minnows so it all evens out in the end.
we shall see. Its not like there aren’t a whole bunch of do or die matches in the group stage under the current format. So its not 100% true that the do-or-die in 2026 will come noticeably sooner.
Sooner meaning in the round of 32 there will be official do- or- die games instead of starting in the round of 16. That adds excitement no matter what anyone says. *Edit What you are talking about in the Group stage is not really do-or-die because there is always a draw option.
Well, you’re paraphrasing a bit but its true that out of the 48 group stage games, 32 will feature a team that would not have been good enough to qualify for a 32 team wc.
@HomietheClown That is exactly what I said and there is no downside to it either. You have an extra Knockout Round of Round of 32, Round of 16, Quarter Finals, Semi Final and the Final itself. That is even more money made, even more TV revenue which is a great thing for the Canadian, American and Mexican TV networks. Plus you have do or die matches which makes this World Cup even more exciting and also makes the matches themselves all the more important especially if you lose your opening game and then your next game would basically be a must win. You create more suspense that way.
Exactly because Round of 32, if you lose you're knocked out. Just that simple but at least it makes the Knockout stage seem all the more important.
They could have been good enough. They just did not qualify due to old outdated rules. There is a difference.
What I will say is that we shall see because I remember EURO 2016 when they expanded from 16 teams to 24 teams and everyone had their doubts thinking the games wouldn't be exciting in the group stage or that there would not be as much do or die games and what happened? It exceeded the expectations and surprised a lot of people which is what I'm saying. At least in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, for all we know we could end up with entertaining games all across the board from group stage even into the Knockout stage. No one really knows what to expect.
1974 World Cup. That's why I always denounce people looking down on Haiti. They used to be stronger than the US and Canada who was ahead of the US also at the time. Every country goes to cycles. Canada hit it's worse from 2000-now. Before the 90s, Canada was consistently a good team. If anything, Haiti are showing signs of reemerging. People are quick to forget they took out Costa Rica out of the Gold Cup.
I think that is a good point about Haiti. They deserve respect especially since many of their deficiencies are not totally their fault but I won't go into politics and poverty and such. Being on the rise is tough to base on a Gold Cup result though. They have gotten some good results in Previous Gold Cups too but found ways to just not look good in Qualifying. Maybe the new CONCACAF format can help them out a bit but we shall see.
Out of any CONCACAF team Haiti is emerging or they have potential to be there in 2026 but how about the Reggae Boyz of Jamaica or the Soca Warriors of Trinidad and Tobago. Jamaica have not been to a World Cup since 1998 that is a very long time to be gone from the world stage and not to mention Jamaica have been emerging too especially in these past couple of Gold Cups. So how come no one talks about them for 2026? Then there's T & T they haven't been to a World Cup since 2006...but they are another country who can emerge in 2026
Good point. In the 70s, Haiti was "the pearl of the Caribbean" and was at it's peak. Proves that Haiti never had a "talent" problem
I don't know if Euro 2016 is a great example. Were the KO stages so much better than before? I remember the brackets just being totally lopsided. Anyway, while the excitement of the KO stage is debatable, the group stage was infinitely more dull. Before 2016, when only 2 teams advanced out of each group, those games felt super important. Guess we have different views on what classifies as "do or die". If you have to win a group match in order to get to the KO stage, for me that is "do or die". Same goes if you need a draw. Because if you lose, you are out. To be clear, I'm not equating must win games in the group stage to a KO stage game, just saying that the group stage also has must win games. Alot of them, in fact.
But then I wonder how 2026 qualifying formats are gonna work especially now that there is 48 teams...like in the Confederations of CONCACAF, AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL, UEFA, OFC how they plan on changing the formats to qualify now that the allocations will be different? I wonder if anyone has any ideas or any suggestions
When I say do-or-die I mean there is one of two options. Win or get knocked out. Not have win-lose-or draw like in Group stage matches. But it is all semantics. The point is the Round of 32 setup adds a layer of excitement we have never had before.
I'll have a go at AFC seeing my country is directly involved and also maintain a combined world cup and Asian Cup qualification system. No changes up to the first group stage. Instead of group winners and best 4 second placed teams advancing (12) top 2 of each group advance and also qualify for AFC Cup 2027 (16). Then 4 groups of 4 with top two qualifying for world cup. 3rd placed teams have a short play off in a neutral venue on a knock out basis. Draw to be seeded on group results if FIFA allow it or FIFA rankings if FIFA insist. Asian Cup continues to have 24 teams compete for remaining spots but as there are only 8 spots suggest 4 groups of six with top two qualifying (currently 6 groups of 4). Only complication is if host doesn't make it to the last group stage when only seven spots will be available at this stage of Asian Cup qualifying.
Perfect format for qualifying for 2026 especially for Asia especially since Asia will have 8 teams in 2026
The Round of 32 won't be long especially if it is a knockout stage just like the Round of 16 because if you lose in the Round of 32, you're out. Just like if you lose in the Round of 16, Quarter Finals or Semis then you are out. So basically the group stage wouldn't even be long at all for the 48 teams.
And just as in the other thread I will say people who do not like the Group Stage can just ignore it and watch when the Round of 32 begins. Look at the Group Stage as a play-in tournament for when the real fun begins. That solves everything.
Not all Groups will have small countries. Not all Small countries will be eliminated. We have seen strange upsets occur all the time.