Oh hey, FIFA's formalised its new World Cup format with 48 teams! 8 matches for the great glory.
13 slots are set aside for Europe, 9 for Africa, 8 for Asia, 6 for CONCACAF counting Uncle Sam and his hat and beard, 6 for CONMEBOL (out of 10) and 1 for Oceania, and two up for playoffs between non-European countries.
First stage: 12 4-team groups, round-robin, single match. The first two in each group and the 8 best-placed third teams reach the knockout stages.
The three-group team proposal has been abandoned in the name of sporting integrity.
Thence it's straightforward: 1/16th finals, 1/8 finals, and so on.
It will now last 39 days instead of 29, from the 11th of June to the 19th of July.
And 104 matches will be played, in all, rather than 64, so there's more matches to sell to crowds both in stadia and on TV!
The final is apparently secretly scheduled to take place at a stadium in Texas.
One good thing is that apparently Argentina apparently will be playing the qualifying tournament so it won't be slacking off as previous champions have done - people are speculating with whether Messi will make it to yet another cup; if he does, let it be properly.