World Cup 2026 will be the biggest ever. But expansion comes with its perils for players and fans

The upcoming World Cup, set to be the largest in history with an unprecedented number of teams, matches, and host nations, is prompting a critical question: has football's premier tournament finally reached its limit? Co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, this expanded edition threatens to test the very boundaries of the sport's global appeal, pushing it to breaking point. Concerns are mounting across several fronts ahead of the June-July tournament.

Players are already hinting at strike action over an increasingly congested fixture calendar, raising questions about physical endurance. Meanwhile, the attention span of fans, accustomed to constant televised football, and the soaring costs of tickets and even parking, present significant challenges. With an expanded 48-team format, up from the traditional 32, stretched over nearly six weeks, critics suggest the tournament risks diluting the quality of FIFA's most valuable asset.

With an expanded 48-team format, up from the traditional 32, stretched over nearly six weeks, critics suggest the tournament risks diluting the quality of FIFA's most valuable asset (Reuters) “I personally think it’s kind of taken a little bit of the excitement and quality away from the tournament and it’s almost like it doesn’t start until the round of 32,” former U. S. forward Clint Dempsey told The Associated Press.

The expanded format has effectively removed the chance of several top teams being drawn in the same group — known as a “group of death” in football vernacular. Much of the jeopardy traditionally seen in the early stages of the tournament has been removed until the round of 16 because the eight best third-place teams also advance to the round of 32. “The biggest danger is dilution of spectacle," said Jonathan Wilson, author of The Power and the Glory: A New History of the World Cup .