World Cup 2026 Glossary

Football and World Cup terms in plain English.

Brace

Two goals scored by the same player in one match.

Hat-trick

Three goals scored by the same player in one match.

Group of Death

A group in the draw that contains an unusually high number of strong teams.

Knockout round

Single-elimination match — the losing team is out of the tournament.

Round of 32

New first knockout round at the 2026 World Cup, introduced because of the expansion from 32 to 48 teams.

Round of 16

The last 16 teams; eight matches that produce the quarter-finalists.

Extra time

Two periods of 15 minutes played after 90 minutes if a knockout match is level.

Penalty shoot-out

Five alternating penalty kicks per side (then sudden death) to decide a tied knockout match after extra time.

VAR

Video Assistant Referee — match official reviewing key decisions on video.

Semi-automated offside

Limb-tracking technology that detects offsides in seconds, introduced at the 2022 World Cup.

Co-host

A nation jointly staging the World Cup. 2026 is the first three-nation co-hosted World Cup.

CONCACAF

Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football.

CONMEBOL

South American football confederation (10 nations).

UEFA

European football confederation (55 member nations).

CAF

Confederation of African Football.

AFC

Asian Football Confederation.

OFC

Oceania Football Confederation.

Clean venue

FIFA policy stripping commercial branding from stadiums during the tournament — why "MetLife Stadium" becomes "New York New Jersey Stadium" for the Final.

Fan Festival

Free FIFA-run public viewing party in each host city.