KUALA LUMPUR - The 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup finals, which kicks off on Thursday (June 11), promises to be the largest-ever tournament organised in the history of world football.
For the first time, the prestigious tournament will feature 48 teams, up from 32 previously, and will be jointly held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, thus making it the first World Cup to be hosted by three nations simultaneously since its inaugural edition in Uruguay in 1930.
The new format sees the 48 teams divided into 12 groups of four.
The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-placed teams will advance to the round of 32, which will be played on a knockout format until the final on July 19.
With 48 teams competing, the total number of matches to be played will rise to 104, up from 64 in previous editions, thereby giving more countries the opportunity to experience what it feels like to be playing at the highest stage of world football.
The opening match between Mexico and South Africa is slated to be held at the Mexico City Stadium on July 11 at 1 pm local time (3 am June 12 Malaysian time), while the final will be played at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19, marking the end of the 39-day tournament across 16 host cities.
This year's World Cup will also see Mexico becoming the first country to host the tournament three times, having organised the 1970 and 1986 editions, while the Mexico City Stadium, better known as the Azteca Stadium, will be the first venue to host three World Cup opening matches.
World Cup 2026 will also feature three official mascots: Maple the Mooserepresenting Canada, Zayu the Jaguar representing Mexico and Clutch the Bald Eagle representing the United States,with each symbolising the identity, culture and football spirit of their respective countries.
World Cup 2026 will also be the first edition to guarantee at least one representative from each of FIFA's six confederations will compete in the finals, in line with efforts to expand global participation.
The increased number of teams participating has also been a big boost for Asia, with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) now having eight automatic slots in the finals.
This year's finals could well be the swansong for two modern footballing icons - Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina's Lionel Messi, who are both expected to make their sixth appearance in the tournament, thus setting a new record in the history of the World Cup.
Messi, who inspired Argentina to third place in the 2022 edition in Qatar, currently holds the all-time record for the most World Cup appearances, having played 26 matches across five different tournaments (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022).
Messi and Ronaldo are also on course to make history as the first players ever to feature in six editions of the World Cup, dating back to 2006 in Germany.
Interestingly, Portugal have never won the World Cup despite having produced some of the world's best players, including Ronaldo, with their best achievements being reaching the semi-finals in 1966 and 2006.
Besides Argentina and Portugal, the other major challengers for the coveted World Cup trophy are five-time champions Brazil, four-time winners Germany, two-time victors France, as well as Spain and England.
There is no doubt that football fans worldwide are waiting for new global stars to emerge and take over from the established names who have dominated the sport for the past two decades.
As for the millions of fans in Malaysia, the kickoff in Mexico not only symbolises the start of the world's biggest football festival, but also rekindles hopes of seeing the Jalur Gemilang flying high on the World Cup stage one day. - BERNAMA