Adidas Trionda match ball
The three-way theming does not end with the mascots at this World Cup. The shiny new Adidas Trionda ball also gets a color scheme to reflect the trio of hosts.
Blue for the USA, green for Mexico, and red for Canada adorn the ball with star, maple leaf, and eagle patterns stenciled on them to distinguish the identities of the three nations. The swooping panels are part of the design as well. The name Trionda stands for three waves, from tri for three and onda for waves.
World Cup 2026 mascots
With three hosts for this World Cup, the tournament also has three mascots. Representing Canada is Maple the moose. For the USA it is Clutch the bald eagle. For Mexico it is Zayu the jaguar.
All three represent their countries by wearing the colours of their respective national kits.
Defending champion Argentina
Argentina enters the tournament as the current World Cup holders. It was the moment for which a soccer-mad nation had waited a very long time as Gonzalo Montiel scored the winning penalty to seal the third World Cup for USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino's native Argentina.
The eventual champion, led by captain and superstar Lionel Messi, played out a thrilling 3-3 draw over 120 minutes with France, so penalties had to be used to decide the world champion. Argentina scored all four of its spot kicks while France only netted two, with Kingsley Coman and Aurelien Tchouameni failing to convert, giving glory to the South Americans.
The World Cup has a long and storied history dating back to 1930. A win earns immortality as a player in a home country, as well as the honor of wearing a star above the national crest on the team jersey. Some countries have had more success, and wear more stars, than others at the tournament.
Here are all the past winners:
- 5 titles: Brazil (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
- 4 titles: Italy (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), Germany (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014). Germany's first three titles were as West Germany.
- 3 titles: Argentina (1978, 1986, 2022)
- 2 titles: Uruguay (1930, 1950), France (1998, 2018)
- 1 title: England (1966), Spain (2010)
64-team World Cup expansion
This World Cup has 48 teams. Discussion around further expansion to 64 teams has continued as the format grows.
For a soccer tournament, 64 is a huge number. It is fully four times the size of the 16 teams granted access to eight of the 22 men's World Cups. The reality is that 64 actually covers up some of the flaws within the 48-team system, and does not bring in too many fresh points of complaint.
The big sticking point is that this much expansion would dilute the field too much and take drama and suspense out of qualification. Yet more spots also bring hope and opportunity to a fresh batch of nations, some suddenly presented with a genuine chance of qualifying instead of needing a miracle.
A 64-team World Cup would truly be a behemoth in terms of size and scope. But, for all that, it may not be as much of a mistake as current perception suggests.
In September, football's world governing body reportedly held discussions about expanding the men's World Cup to 64 teams in 2030, having received a formal pitch from influential South American leaders that day. FIFA officials stress they represent all 211 member nations, not just the 50 or so nations that are semi-regular competitors at the World Cup. By expanding the tournament to 64 teams, half of its members would have realistic hopes of competing.
2026 World Cup format
The 2026 World Cup is a 48-team tournament for the first time, ending a 24-year run of 32-team World Cups dating back to 1998. The group stage consists of 12 groups of four teams, followed by knockout stages: a round of 32, round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, 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 third-placed teams with the best group record.
