2026 World Cup: FIFA fixes May 30 deadline for submission of squad list

FIFA has confirmed that all 48 qualified national teams must submit their final 23-player squads for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by May 30, 2026.

The global football governing body announced that the tournament will return to the traditional 23-player squad format, moving away from the 26-player rosters that were temporarily introduced during the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to exceptional circumstances surrounding the global football calendar.

With the squad size reduced again, national team coaches and technical staff are expected to face difficult selection decisions as they trim their provisional lists to meet the final requirement. Once the official squad lists are submitted before the deadline, only the players included in the 23-man roster will be eligible to participate in the competition.

The 2026 edition of the World Cup will be historic in several ways. It will be the first tournament to feature 48 participating nations, expanding from the previous 32-team format used in earlier editions.

The expanded competition is expected to provide more opportunities for countries across different confederations to qualify and compete on the global stage.

The tournament will also mark the first time the World Cup will be jointly hosted by three countries the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Matches will be played across several cities in the three North American nations, with the competition scheduled to kick off in June 2026.

Football fans around the world are already anticipating what promises to be one of the biggest World Cup tournaments in history, both in terms of participating teams and the scale of the event.

The confirmed squad deadline now provides national teams with a clear timeline as preparations continue for the global showpiece.