We are going to see something new in the next World Cup — a 48-team tournament for the first time. It ends a 24-year run of 32-team World Cups dating back to 1998.
That affects the tournament schedule, as it means we have a group stage consisting of 12 groups of four teams, followed by the following knockout stages: round of 32, round of 16, quarterfinal, semifinal and final.
At the end of the group stage, the top two teams in each group will automatically progress to the knockouts, as well as the eight highest finishing third-placed teams. For those hoping to be crowned world champions, it means winning one more match than in the past, with eight matches rather than seven standing between them and the famous trophy.
