Place any two completed men's World Cups side by side, from 1930 through 2026, while keeping changes in teams, matches and format visible.
Measure20222026
HostQatarCanada / Mexico / United States
ChampionArgentinaSpain
Runner-upFranceArgentina
Final3–3, 4–2 pens1–0 aet
FormatGroup stage followed by a 16-team knockoutGroup stage followed by a 32-team knockout
Teams3248
Matches64104
Goals172308
Goals per match2.692.96
Format-aware comparison keeps changes in tournament size visible; raw totals should not be read as like-for-like performance without the teams and matches rows.
Historical totals: OpenFootball CC0 match records. The 2026 total was recomputed from all 104 completed ESPN match reports and cross-checked against FIFA.