Loading…
Original explainers on international football: the road to the 2030 World Cup, the Women’s World Cup in Brazil 2027, how qualifying works in every confederation, and a century of World Cup history.
Written by our team and kept up to date as FIFA and the confederations confirm dates and formats — from the next tournaments on the calendar to the records that still stand.
The first Women's World Cup in South America runs from 24 June to 25 July 2027 across eight Brazilian cities, opening and closing at the Maracanã. Here is everything confirmed so far: the stadiums, the 18 teams already qualified, the draw date and how the 32-team format works.
Read guide UpdatedSpain, Portugal and Morocco host the 2030 World Cup, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay staging the centenary openers — six teams already in. The other 42 places are decided from 2027. Here is the confirmed picture confederation by confederation, and what has been reported about CONMEBOL's format.
Read guide UpdatedTwelve groups, eight best third-placed teams and a new Round of 32: how the format that debuted in 2026 works, what happened when it was played for real, and why it matters again for 2030.
Read guide UpdatedSix confederations, six very different roads to the World Cup: South America's marathon league, Europe's groups, Africa's and Asia's multi-round systems, CONCACAF's regional ladder and Oceania's single slot. A plain-language explainer of who qualifies, how ties are broken and how the inter-confederation play-off works.
Read guide UpdatedTwenty-three tournaments, eight different champions and a century of finals. From the 13 teams that sailed to Montevideo in 1930 to the 48-team edition won by Spain in New Jersey, this is the story of the World Cup era by era — with the records that still stand and the ones that fell in 2026.
Read guide UpdatedThe defending champions won their first seven matches — three of them from behind or in extra time — and lost the final 1–0 to Spain. Game by game, with Messi's eight goals and what the tournament said about this team.
Read guide UpdatedThe hunt for a sixth star ended in the round of 16: a convincing group, a late comeback against Japan and two Erling Haaland goals in New Jersey. Brazil's earliest exit since 1990 stretches the wait since 2002 to at least 28 years.
Read guide UpdatedDuring the World Cup every probability on the site came from Elo ratings, a Poisson goals model and thousands of simulated tournaments. How it worked, how it scored over all 104 matches, and why a different model has made our predictions since September.
Read guide Updated