Editing FIFA World Cup (section)

== Format ==
{{Update|date=May 2025|reason=Tournament format has been changed}}

=== Qualification ===
{{Main|FIFA World Cup qualification}}
Since the second World Cup in [[1934 FIFA World Cup|1934]], qualifying tournaments have been held to thin the field for the final tournament.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminarydraw/news/newsid=576440.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118182153/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminarydraw/news/newsid=576440.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 November 2007 |title=FIFA World Cup qualifying: Treasure-trove of the weird and wonderful |work=FIFA |access-date=23 December 2007}}</ref> They are held within the six FIFA continental zones ([[Confederation of African Football|Africa]], [[Asian Football Confederation|Asia]], [[CONCACAF|North and Central America and Caribbean]], [[CONMEBOL|South America]], [[Oceania Football Confederation|Oceania]], and [[UEFA|Europe]]), overseen by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides the number of places awarded to each of the continental zones beforehand, generally based on the relative strength of the confederations' teams.

The qualification process can start as early as almost three years before the final tournament and last over a two-year period. The formats of the qualification tournaments differ between confederations. Usually, one or two places are awarded to winners of intercontinental [[play-off]]s. For example, the winner of the Oceanian zone and the fifth-placed team from the Asian zone entered a play-off for a spot in the [[2010 FIFA World Cup|2010 World Cup]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/print?id=468907&type=story&cc= |title=2010 World Cup Qualifying |work=ESPNSoccernet.com |publisher=ESPN |date=26 November 2009 |access-date=23 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216151218/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/print?id=468907&type=story&cc= |archive-date=16 December 2008}}</ref> From the [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938 World Cup]] onwards, host nations receive automatic qualification to the final tournament. This right was also granted to the defending champions between 1938 and 2002, but was withdrawn from the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]] onward, requiring the champions to qualify, as previous defending champions had uncompetitive performances at subsequent editions of the FIFA World Cup. [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]], winners in [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002]], were the first defending champions to play qualifying matches.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/51/97/75/fs-201_19a_fwc-prel-history.pdf |title=History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year) |work=FIFA.com |publisher=Fédération Internationale de Football Association |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614212731/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/51/97/75/fs-201_19a_fwc-prel-history.pdf |archive-date=14 June 2010}}</ref>

=== Final tournament ===
{{For|the various formats used in previous tournaments|History of the FIFA World Cup#Evolution of the format}}
The final tournament format since 1998 has had 32 national teams competing over the course of a month in the host nations. There are two stages: the group stage, followed by the knockout stage.<ref name="FIFAformat">{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_04e_fwc_formats_slots_8821.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227032244/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_04e_fwc_formats_slots_8821.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 February 2008 |title=Formats of the FIFA World Cup final competitions 1930–2010 |work=FIFA.com |access-date=1 January 2008 |publisher=Fédération Internationale de Football Association}}</ref>

In the group stage, teams compete within eight groups of four teams each. Eight teams are seeded, including the hosts, with the other seeded teams selected using a formula based on the [[FIFA World Rankings]] or performances in recent World Cups, and drawn to separate groups.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/82/40/89/fs-201_12a_fwc-seededteams.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215190232/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mencompwc/82/40/89/fs-201_12a_fwc-seededteams.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 February 2010 |title=FIFA World Cup: seeded teams 1930–2010 |publisher=Fédération Internationale de Football Association |work=FIFA.com |access-date=12 May 2014}}</ref> The other teams are assigned to different "pots", usually based on geographical criteria, and teams in each pot are drawn at random to the eight groups. Since [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]], constraints have been applied to the draw to ensure that no group contains more than two European teams or more than one team from any other confederation.<ref>Previously, due to there being fewer finals places and a bigger ratio of European finalists, there had been several occasions where three European teams were in a single group, for example, 1986 (West Germany, Scotland, and Denmark), 1990 (Italy, Czechoslovakia, and Austria), and 1994 (Italy, Republic of Ireland, and Norway). ({{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_10e-fwcdraw-history_52560.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091123034518/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_10e-fwcdraw-history_52560.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 November 2009 |title=History of the World Cup Final Draw |work=FIFA.com |publisher=Fédération Internationale de Football Association |access-date=12 May 2014}})</ref>

Each group plays a [[round-robin tournament]] in which each team is scheduled for three matches against other teams in the same group. This means that a total of six matches are played within a group. The last round of matches of each group is scheduled at the same time to preserve fairness among all four teams.<ref>This practice has been installed since the [[1986 FIFA World Cup]]. In some cases during previous tournaments, for example, Argentina 6–0 Peru in [[1978 FIFA World Cup|Argentina 1978]] and [[West Germany 1–0 Austria (1982 FIFA World Cup)|West Germany 1–0 Austria]] in [[1982 FIFA World Cup|Spain 1982]], teams that played the latter match were perceived to gain an unfair advantage by knowing the score of the earlier match, and subsequently [[Match fixing#Match fixing to a draw or a fixed score|obtaining a result that ensured advancement to the next stage]]. ({{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/1978-world-cup-a-first-title-for-argentina-1.816202 |title=1978 Argentina |publisher=CBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928003655/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/1978-world-cup-a-first-title-for-argentina-1.816202 |archive-date=28 September 2013 |url-status=live}}; {{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/1982-world-cup-rossi-to-the-resuce-for-italy-1.793678 |title=1982 Spain |publisher=CBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212035951/http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/1982-world-cup-rossi-to-the-resuce-for-italy-1.793678 |archive-date=12 February 2015 |url-status=live}})</ref> The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. Points are used to rank the teams within a group. Since [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994]], [[Three points for a win|three points have been awarded for a win]], one for a draw and none for a loss (before, winners received two points).

Considering six matches in a group each with three possible outcomes (win, draw, loss), there are 729 (= 3<sup>6</sup>) possible final table outcomes for the 40 possible combinations of the four teams' points.<ref>{{Cite web |last=gadamico |date=25 July 2021 |title=Soccer and Statistics: Modeling the Group Stage |url=https://github.com/gadamico/soccer_and_statistics/blob/main/soccer_and_statistics.ipynb |access-date=2 March 2024 |website=github.com}}</ref> However, 14 of the 40 points combinations (or 207 of the 729 possible outcomes) lead to ties between the second and third places. In such case, the ranking among these teams is determined by:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefaorg/Regulations/01/87/54/21/1875421_DOWNLOAD.pdf |title=Regulations – 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia |page=43 |work=FIFA.com |publisher=Fédération Internationale de Football Association |access-date=24 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013234125/https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/Regulations/uefaorg/Regulations/01/87/54/21/1875421_DOWNLOAD.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
# Greatest combined goal difference in all group matches
# Greatest combined number of goals scored in all group matches
# If more than one team remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined as follows:
## Greatest number of points in head-to-head matches among those teams
## Greatest goal difference in head-to-head matches among those teams
## Greatest number of goals scored in head-to-head matches among those teams
## Fair play points, defined by the number of yellow and red cards received in the group stage:
### Yellow card: minus 1 point
### Indirect red card (as a result of a second yellow card): minus 3 points
### Direct red card: minus 4 points
### Yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points
# If any of the teams above remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined by the drawing of lots

The knockout stage is a [[single-elimination tournament]] in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with [[extra time]] and [[penalty shootout (association football)|penalty shootouts]] used to decide the winner if necessary. It begins with the round of 16 (or the second round) in which the winner of each group plays against the runner-up of another group. This is followed by the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, the [[third place playoff|third-place match]] (contested by the losing semi-finalists), and the final.<ref name="FIFAformat" />

On 10 January 2017, FIFA approved a new format, the 48-team World Cup (to accommodate more teams), which was to consist of 16 groups of three teams each, with two teams qualifying from each group, to form a round of 32 knockout stage, to be implemented by 2026.<ref>{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Turner |url=http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/10723865/fifa-council-votes-in-favour-of-48-team-world-cup-from-2026 |title=FIFA approves 48-team World Cup |work=[[Sky Sports News]] |date=10 January 2017 |access-date=10 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170111005600/http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/10723865/fifa-council-votes-in-favour-of-48-team-world-cup-from-2026 |archive-date=11 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> On 14 March 2023, FIFA approved a revised format of the 2026 tournament, which features 12 groups of four teams each, with the top 8 third-placed teams joining the group winners and runners-up in a new round of 32.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ziegler |first=Martyn |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/7d38da2c-c24b-11ed-8e20-0f5794810aad |title=World Cup will be a week longer — but Fifa scraps three-team group plan |work=[[The Times]] |date=14 March 2023 |access-date=14 March 2023 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314110957/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/7d38da2c-c24b-11ed-8e20-0f5794810aad |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Slater |first1=Matt |last2=Ornstein |first2=David |url=https://theathletic.com/4307230/2023/03/14/world-cup-2026-format-usa/ |title=World Cup 2026 format expands again with four-team groups and 104 matches |work=[[The Athletic]] |date=14 March 2023 |access-date=14 March 2023 |archive-date=14 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314103434/https://theathletic.com/4307230/2023/03/14/world-cup-2026-format-usa/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2025, it was reported that FIFA was considering an one-off expansion to 64 teams for the [[2030 FIFA World Cup]], the centennial anniversary of the FIFA World Cup.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/world/europe/fifa-world-cup-64-teams.html|title=FIFA to Consider Expanding World Cup to 64 Teams|first=Tariq|last=Panja|date=March 6, 2025|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>