World Cup primer: Favourites, darkhorses and other stuff to know

We're now less than 48 hours from the start of the World Cup, which kicks off Thursday at 3 p.m ET with Mexico facing South Africa at the vaunted Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, followed by a nightcap between South Korea and Czechia in Guadalajara.

Co-host Canada's first match is on Friday at 3 p.m. ET against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto — the first men's World Cup match ever held on Canadian turf. Later that night, the primary host United States takes on Paraguay in Los Angeles.

After that, soccer fans will be treated to at least three matches per day, and as many as six, as the group stage plays out over the next two weeks, with kickoff times ranging from noon ET to midnight ET across the three North American host countries.

To help get you ready for the planet's most popular sporting event, here are some basics to know for the 2026 World Cup.

This is the biggest World Cup ever.

After launching in 1930 with just 13 countries, the tournament has now blown up to 48 — a 50 per cent increase from the 32 that played in the last World Cup in 2022 in Qatar.

As has been the case for decades, the teams are divided into groups of four for round-robin play. But, unlike the 32-team format, where only the top two in each group advanced to the single-elimination playoffs, this time the eight best third-place teams from the 12 groups will also move on as the knockout stage doubles in size from 16 teams to 32. That, as well as an influx of lower-ranked teams to fill out the expanded field, should make it easier for the top nations to advance, but could also sap some of the drama from the group stage.

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This is also the first World Cup to be