FIFA has announced that all 48 qualified national teams must submit their final squads for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by May 30, 2026.
The football governing body confirmed that the tournament will revert to the traditional 23-player squad format, moving away from the expanded 26-man lists that were temporarily used during the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to unusual scheduling challenges in the global football calendar.
With the squad size reduced again, national team coaches and technical staff are expected to face difficult choices as they narrow their provisional player lists to meet the final requirement. After the May 30 deadline, only players included in the official 23-man squad will be eligible to participate in the tournament.
The 2026 World Cup will be historic for several reasons. It will be the first edition of the competition to feature 48 teams, expanding from the previous 32-team format used in past tournaments.
The expansion is expected to give more countries from different football confederations the opportunity to qualify and compete on the world stage.
In addition, the tournament will be the first World Cup jointly hosted by three nations — the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Matches will be played across multiple cities in the three North American countries, with the competition scheduled to kick off in June 2026.
Fans across the globe are already looking forward to what is expected to be one of the biggest World Cup tournaments ever, both in terms of the number of participating teams and the scale of the event. The confirmed squad deadline now provides national teams with a clear timeline as preparations continue for football’s biggest global showpiece. ⚽