Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1541835
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will see a record 48 teams compet- ing to become football's world champion with Cape Verde, Jor- dan, Uzbekistan and Curaçao appearing for the first time. The biggest-ever edition of football's global showpiece will see 104 games featuring 48 teams played across 16 host cit- ies in three countries—Canada, Mexico and the United States. Next year's tournament kicks off in Mexico City on 11 June and will come to an end with the final being played in New York, New Jersey stadium on 19 July. The draw ceremony for initial group stages took place on Fri- day at the Kennedy Centre in Washington. FIFA announced all 12 groups that in- clude the 42 teams already qualified and reserved the slots for the six teams that have yet to make it through the play- offs. The play-offs will be played in March. Four teams will be decided in the UEFA play-offs, with the other two coming from the FIFA Play-off Tournament. The expanded tournament will see Cape Verde, Jordan, Uzbek- istan and Curaçao appearing in the World Cup for the first time. Curaçao, a Caribbean island nation, is the smallest country by population size to have ever qualified to the tournament. Games will be played at 11 NFL stadiums in the US along with three in Mexico and two in Can- ada, where construction is un- derway to add 17,000 temporary seats to BMO Field, raising ca- pacity to around 45,000. Attend- ance for the games is expected to top the record 3.59 million in 1994 when the World Cup was held in the US. The world's top 11-ranked teams have all quali- fied, although Italy are among the 22 coun- tries compet- ing in playoffs for the final six berths. Led by captain Lionel Messi, Argentina, which won the last World Cup, is seeking to become the first nation to win consecutive tournaments since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Messi will also look to extend his record of 26 games played and enters with 13 career World Cup goals, three shy of Miroslav Klose's record. THE 12 GROUPS Group A: Mexico, South Afri- ca, South Korea, UEFA Play-off D Group B: Canada, Qatar, Swit- zerland, UEFA Play-off A Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti Group D: USA, Paraguay, Aus- tralia, UEFA Play-off C Group E: Germany, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Curaçao Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, UEFA Play-off B Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand Group H: Spain, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay, Cape Verde Group I: France, Senegal, Nor- way, Fifa Play-off 2 Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan Group K: Portugal, Uzbekistan, Colombia, Fifa Play-off 1 Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana THE SIX PLAY-OFF PATHS UEFA Play-off A: Italy, Wales, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland UEFA Play-off B: Ukraine, Po- land, Albania, Sweden UEFA Play-off C: Turkey, Slo- vakia, Kosovo, Romania UEFA Play-off D: Denmark, Czech Republic, Republic of Ire- land, North Macedonia Fifa Play-off 1: DR Congo, Ja- maica, New Caledonia Fifa Play-off 2: Iraq, Bolivia, Suriname 6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 DECEMBER 2025 NEWS KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt L-attivitajiet proposti jiffukaw fuq servizzi ta' reklutaġġ li jinkludu: 1. Konsultazzjoni dwar reklutaġġ. 2. Intervisti għall-impjieg, selezzjoni u xogħlijiet rakkomandati għal kandidati ideali skont il ħtieġa marbuta ma' kwalifiki u esperjenza. 3. Reklutaġġ ta' persuni ġejjin minn pajjiżi barranin jew pajjiżi fl- Unjoni Ewropea biex ikollhom impjieg hawn Malta. 4. Reklutaġġ ta' persuni Maltin jew minn pajjiżi fl-Unjoni Ewropea. 5. Reklamar marbuta mal-bżonn t'impjieg vakanti. 6. Jinżamm reġistru t'applikanti għal kull impjieg. Notifika t'Intenzjoni Liċenzja għal Reklutaġġ Ozo Malta Ltd. tiddikjara l-intenzjoni biex tirreġistra għal-Liċenzja tal-Impjiegi skont L.N. 270 tal-2023 Att dwar L-Impjieg Industrijali (Kap. 452) Regolamenti tal- 2023 dwar l-Aġenziji tal-Impjieg. Indirizz uffiċjali reġistrat: Ozo Group Business Centre, Triq il-Mastrudaxxa, Qormi Numru reġistrat tal-kumpanija: C9023 5270 OM Notice of Intent Maltese V2.indd 1 5270 OM Notice of Intent Maltese V2.indd 1 04/12/2025 13:48:34 04/12/2025 13:48:34 World Cup 2026: Minnows and giants know their groups