When will FIFA World Cup 2026 start, how many teams will participate – who scored the most goals and how much will be the reward? know everything

FIFA World Cup 2026: The Mahakumbh of football i.e. FIFA World Cup 2026 is going to start from June 11. The final match will be played on July 19 at New York New Jersey (MetLife) Stadium. This time, three countries are hosting the tournament together for the first time. These countries are America, Canada and Mexico.

In such a situation, questions are arising in the minds of the fans that how many teams will participate in this tournament, how much prize money will the title winning team get and who has scored the most goals in the history of the tournament. Come, let us know the answers to all these questions…

FIFA World Cup 2026: How many teams will participate?

For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, a record 48 teams are participating. Before this, only 32 teams used to play. Due to increase in the number of teams, the number of matches has also increased to 104 matches.

For how many days will FIFA World Cup 2026 last?

FIFA World Cup 2026 will last for 39 days. All 48 teams have been divided into 12 groups (4 teams in each group).

FIFA World Cup 2026: How much is the prize money?

The FIFA Council has approved a record total financial budget of $ 727 million (approximately ₹ 6,085 crore) for this year, of which $ 655 million (approximately ₹ 5,482 crore) will be distributed directly to the teams as prize money based on their performance.

• Champions: Record $50 million (about ₹418 crore)
• Runners-up: $33 million (about ₹276 crore)
• 3rd Place: $29 million (about ₹242 crore)
• Teams eliminated from the group stage: Each team is set to receive a minimum participation amount of $9 million (approximately ₹75 crore).

FIFA World Cup: Which team has won the title how many times?

The FIFA Men’s World Cup has been organized a total of 22 times from 1930 to 2022, which has been won by only 8 countries. The current champion is Argentina (2022 winner).

FIFA World Cup 2026: Which 4 countries are making their debut?

Due to this new format of 48 teams, for the first time 4 countries have created history by qualifying for the FIFA World Cup. This includes Uzbekistan, Jordan, Curaçao and Cape Verde.

• Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan has secured a World Cup ticket for the first time by performing strongly in the Asian Qualifiers (AFC). They are present in Group K along with Portugal and Colombia.
• Jordan: This Asian team had shown its strength by reaching the final of the 2023 Asian Cup. Now this team will be seen playing in the main World Cup for the first time. They are in Group J with Argentina.
• Curaçao: This small Caribbean island country from the CONCACAF region has become the smallest country in terms of population to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in history. They will play against Germany in Group E.
• Cape Verde: After causing many major upsets in the African Qualifiers (CAF), this team has made it to Group H along with big teams like Spain and Uruguay.

FIFA World Cup 2026: When will the opening match be played?

The first match of FIFA World Cup 2026 will be played on June 11. Being co-hosts, the three host countries (Mexico, Canada and America) will play their opening matches on their home grounds. The first official opening match will be played between Mexico and South Africa at 12:30 pm IST on June 12 at Estadio Azteca (Azteca Stadium), Mexico City. This stadium will become the first venue in the world to host the opening matches of the FIFA World Cup three times.

Canada’s first match will be against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 at Toronto Stadium. At the same time, America’s first match will be with Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles.

Which player has scored the most goals – Top 5 players

Germany’s great forward Miroslav Klose holds the record for scoring the most goals in FIFA World Cup history. He has scored 16 goals in the tournament. After this come the names of Ronaldo, Gerd Muller, Just Fontaine and Lionel Messi.

Top 5 goal scorers in FIFA World Cup history

Some surprising records related to goal scoring

• Most goals in a single World Cup: France’s Just Fontaine played only one World Cup (1958). He scored 13 goals in just 6 matches of that tournament alone, which remains an unbroken world record till date.
• Most goals among active players: Argentina’s legend Lionel Messi (13 goals) and France’s young star Kylian Mbappe (12 goals) are at the top of this list, who can further extend this record in the upcoming 2026 World Cup.