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A bluffer's guide to the 2026 World Cup

With just days to go until the World Cup, you're probably hearing a lot more football chat than usual.

But if you're not a superfan, how can you keep up? Our nine easy conversation starters will make you sound like an expert.

It'll be bigger than ever

A close-up shot of a man wearing sunglasses with a World Cup miniature on each side.

The 2026 edition takes place across the US, Canada and Mexico - marking the first time that the world's top football competition has been co-hosted by three nations.

There'll also be more matches than ever, as the tournament has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams. Critics accuse Fifa organisers of watering down the contest, but fans of Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan are happy to see their countries making their debuts.

The final will be held in New Jersey and will include, for the first time, a glitzy half-time show, much like the Super Bowl - American football's biggest fixture. Madonna, Shakira and BTS are all set to perform.

Two icons are expected to bow out

Lionel Messi on the pitch wearing Argentina's jersey

Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, and Lionel Messi, who'll turn 39 during the tournament, have been selected to captain Portugal and Argentina respectively.

Ronaldo has confirmed that this will be his final outing on the global stage. Many think it could also be the last tournament for Messi, whose nation won the competition in 2022.

The two living legends could both make history as the first male players to appear at six World Cups. Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, 40, has also been selected for a sixth tournament, though he hasn't had time on the pitch on each occasion.

There's pressure on the hosts

A group of US fans cheer on the streets of New York City

Hosting historically gives a nation an edge - and since the first World Cup in 1930, about one in four tournaments have been won by a country staging the competition.

But recent editions haven't been kind to host nations: South Africa (in 2010) and Qatar (in 2022) were eliminated early in the tournament, and Brazil (in 2014) suffered a humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semi-finals.

Mexico made the last eight both times they hosted, in 1970 and in 1986, and the USA made the last 16 in 1994. The Canadians are hosting for the first time.

Latin America will bring the vibes

A close-up shot of two Brazil fans wearing green and yellow clothes, as well as feather headdresses.

The supporters of world champions Argentina are something special, says BBC Sport's chief football writer, Phil McNulty. One of his top sights at the Qatar tournament was thousands of their passionate fans snaking in long, noisy lines into and out of metro stations.

But, Phil adds, Brazil's fans bring a carnival atmosphere to every city they play in - literally. The samba bands and their rhythms follow them around, and the World Cup is a combination of the things they love most.

And Mexico's games at Mexico City's magnificent Estadio Azteca will revive memories of Brazil winning the 1970 World Cup final against Italy there - as well as Diego Maradona's infamous "Hand Of God" against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, followed by his spectacular second goal.

If the cards fall right for England, and they end up playing there in the last 16, the atmosphere will be stunning.

Some countries treat matches like a national holiday...

A man crosses a wide avenue decorated with green and yellow bunting in Brasilia, Brazil

The Brazilians also make a big deal of the World Cup back at home - and who can blame them, given that they've won the tournament more times (five) than any other nation.

Matches are treated as national events that reshape daily life, BBC Brasil reporter Iara Diniz explains. The country's National Congress, for example, adjusts its schedule around match times: sessions aren't held during games, and working hours are shortened so people can watch.

Across the country, streets are decorated with flags and public spaces are painted in national colours. This year, in Rio de Janeiro, the city government will even give out prizes for the best decorated streets.

In Scotland, some public-sector workers - including NHS employees and staff from five councils - will be able to take off 15 June, the day after the team's first fixture of the tournament, against Haiti.

... and some reward their players better than others

Germany players lift the World Cup after winning the tournament in 2014

As if the incentive of winning football's top prize wasn't enough, players are also offered financial bonuses by their national associations. These vary significantly between countries - with some rewarding appearances, some rewarding progression through the tournament, and others using a combination of both, says Prof Rob Wilson of the University Campus of Football Business.

Some countries reportedly offer their players hundreds of thousands of pounds each if they win the famous golden trophy - though little information is made public.

Germany has one of the most transparent associations. The winning 2014 squad were each given 300,000 euros (£260,000; $350,000).

But not every association can offer bonuses on the same level. 2014 was also the year that players from three separate African nations - Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria - ended up in dispute with their national authorities over bonus payments, which were reported to have been relatively low five-figure sums.

Some managers have already been there, done that

Didier Deschamps is lifted up in the air by France players after their win in 2018 in Moscow

France boss Didier Deschamps is part of an all-time elite group of just three men who've won the World Cup as both player and manager.

But he's not the only former star we'll see leading his country from the dugout. More than a dozen of the tournament's managers previously played at a World Cup.

And most of them will be in charge of the same nations that they represented - with some exceptions, like Mauricio Pochettino, who's heading up the USA but played for Argentina.

The tournament already has an unlikely social star

Ronaldo and Messi are the World Cup's most popular players on Instagram, with more than half a billion followers each.

By contrast, Tim Payne, a defender picked for New Zealand, was recently nicknamed the tournament's "least-known" footballer, with fewer than 5,000 followers.

That was until the intervention of Argentine influencer Valen Scarsini, also known as elscarso, who mounted a campaign to secure Payne more love online.

The result? Payne now has more than four million followers to his name.

And English and Scottish stars are packing home comforts... like Uno cards, slippers and Irn-Bru

Harry Kane at a training session, wearing his comfy slippers.

Boots, sun cream, toothbrush: players on World Cup duty have plenty of essential items to remember.

Last time, England stars revealed they'd also made space for certain other luxuries: comfy slippers (Harry Kane), a deck of Uno cards (Jude Bellingham) and even an Xbox games console (Declan Rice). Rice said he also took an additional bag to bring home the trophy, but returned with his suitcase empty.

It's been 28 years since the Scotland team last packed their bags to go to a World Cup. But during another recent tournament, Euro 2020, squad members said captain Andy Robertson had surprised them by packing goodie-bags of Scottish treats - including cans of fizzy orange Irn-Bru.