The biggest championship in history: 48 teams, three countries
Until now, 32 teams competed at the World Cup. This year there are 48 — the international football federation FIFA expanded the tournament, and it is being jointly hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico. A total of 104 matches will be played instead of the previous 64, running from June 11 to July 19. This is precisely why the tournament may seem "endless": more teams and an additional new knockout round together mean a stretch over a week longer than the previous 32-team format. ESPN ↗How advancement works: first the groups, then the knockout stage
The 48 teams are divided into twelve groups of four. In the group stage, each team plays three matches — a round-robin. The top two teams from each group advance (that's 24 teams), joined by the eight best third-placed teams. That makes 32 in total. From there it's a straight knockout: whoever loses is out — first the round of 32 (i.e., the first knockout round, entirely new this year), then the round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final on July 19. That "third-place math" is the one truly unintuitive part: even a team that finishes third in its group can advance if it accumulates enough points compared to the third-placed teams from other groups. Wikipedia ↗Why Slovakia isn't there
Slovakia failed to qualify for the tournament back in the qualifiers. It finished second in its European group behind Germany, which sent it into the playoffs — an additional play-off round for the remaining open spots. There, the Slovaks lost to Kosovo 3:4 at the National Football Stadium in Bratislava, and the dream ended. European qualification works so that group winners advance directly, while second-placed teams fight for the remaining spots in the playoffs — and it was there that Slovakia was eliminated. SME Šport ↗Czechia is there after twenty years
Our neighbors pulled it off. Czechia will play at the World Cup for the first time since 2006 — it secured qualification in a dramatic playoff, defeating first Ireland and then Denmark on penalties. In the group stage it faces Mexico (one of the hosts), South Korea, and South Africa, against whom it already drew, which sparked criticism of the Czech team. Czech media also noted a curiosity of the tournament — several teams are relying on players with roots in other countries, giving rise to the nickname "the diaspora championship." FIFA ↗ Aktuálně.cz ↗Read also: Nedvěd acknowledged criticism of the Czech team after the draw with South Africa
Surprises of the first days
The biggest story of the opening days was written by the smallest teams. Curaçao — a Caribbean island with roughly 150,000 inhabitants, by far the smallest country in World Cup history — held favored Ecuador to a scoreless draw, with goalkeeper Eloy Room producing fifteen saves. Similarly, Cape Verde, an island nation off West Africa, drew with Uruguay and remains in contention for advancement. SITA ↗ On the other side, big names are disappointing: traditionally strong Belgium is still waiting for its first win after a scoreless draw with Iran. STVR ↗ Favorites are so far performing as expected — Spain defeated Saudi Arabia 4:0, the Netherlands routed Sweden 5:1, and Germany and the USA have both already secured qualification.Lionel Messi is writing his own chapter: with a goal against Austria, he surpassed German player Miroslav Klose's 16 goals and became the all-time top scorer in World Cup history — even though earlier in the same match he had missed a penalty kick. ESPN ↗
Read also: Curaçao earned a historic point, Room stopped Ecuador with 15 saves
