The 2026 World Cup expanded to 48 teams with debutants Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan. Cape Verde, a nation of 530,000, stole the group stage with draws against Spain and Uruguay, reaching the knockout rounds where they took Argentina to extra time. FIFA's new seeding policy kept top-ranked Argentina, England, France and Spain apart until the semi-finals, with a draw manipulation ensuring an Argentina-Spain final.

Mandatory three-minute hydration breaks in every match became commercial cash cows, with US ad slots costing up to $750,000. Coaches used them as tactical timeouts, altering several matches. Pierluigi Collina's anti-time-wasting measures succeeded: ball-in-play time rose to 60.4% from 57.4% in 2022, with average match length dropping to 96 minutes.

Despite controversy over high ticket prices and a subpoena from New York and New Jersey attorneys general, attendance hit a record 6,527,410 at 99.7% capacity. The tournament faced politicisation from US visa bans affecting fans and a Somali referee, while President Trump intervened to overturn Folarin Balogun's red card.