Correcting tournament calculations

I realized that in a 32-team tournament, there are actually 64 matches, not the 79 I first calculated. The breakdown is as follows: 48 group matches plus knockout rounds. I mistakenly used a round of 32 calculation instead of starting at round of 16. So, 48 group matches plus 16 knockout matches brings the total to 64. I got a bit tangled in my earlier count where I added an extra round. It’s easy to mix up the formats!Clarifying knockout match calculations

I just realized that in a knockout tournament with 32 teams, I need to account for matches carefully. Here's how it breaks down: for the round of 16, we have 8 matches; for the quarterfinals, 4; for the semifinals, 2; and for the final, 1 — that's 15 matches. Including a third-place match adds up to 16 total matches without the round of 32. Ultimately, it confirms that for a 32-team format, there are 31 matches if we follow the standard process.Understanding tournament formats

I'm working through the formats for different tournaments. For a 48-team setup, I see there are 12 groups of 4, with the top 2 and 8 best third-place teams advancing to a round of 32. The breakdown shows 72 group matches and 32 knockout matches, which adds up to 104 total matches — matching FIFA's count. For a 64-team tournament, we have 96 group matches plus the same knockout structure, totaling 128 matches. That’s a lot to manage in terms of scheduling!Summarizing tournament proposal

I’m organizing some thoughts on the potential expansion of FIFA tournaments. Currently, FIFA has confirmed a 48-team format for 2026 and 2030, with 2034 reportedly awarded to Saudi Arabia. If we explore a 64-team scenario, it would involve about 128 matches, extending the tournament duration by at least 9-12 days. This expansion could strain resources in host cities while raising questions about competition quality and recovery time. In summary, it's unlikely we’ll see this expansion before 2034. Do I need to follow up on any specifics or analyses?