Most observers had probably made the assumption, but it’s now official: the Canadian men’s national team will be playing at consecutive World Cups for the first time ever.

At a FIFA Council session on Tuesday, February 14, the federation confirmed that the three hosts of the first-ever triple-host-nation World Cup, the 2026 edition in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, will all be given a guaranteed spot at the tournament.

Automatic qualification for host countries is standard practice, but the lack of precedent for a three-host World Cup had raised some questions about how it will be handled.

Now, we know: all three nations will have a berth, meaning that there will only be three CONCACAF qualification spots up for grabs instead of the new full allotment of six at the expanded tournament.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first under the new expanded format with the number of participants increasing from 24 to 32. Toronto and Vancouver are the Canadian cities that will be hosting matches in 2026.

For John Herdman’s side, as he has spoken about before, the focus must now be on ensuring that Canada plays enough high-quality competitive games in the long lead-up to the tournament. While there will be o qualifying campaign, Canada at least have the 2024 Copa América and the potential of an expanded Gold Cup to look forward to.

Related read: Nightingale: Copa América 2024 chance, Gold Cup plans show size of CanMNT’s pre-2026 opportunity

Meanwhile, at the same FIFA Council session on Tuesday, FIFA also announced that Saudi Arabia will host the 2023 Club World Cup next December.

The next edition of the tournament after that, the 2025 iteration, will be expanded hugely to 32 teams from its current eight and will take place in June and July 2025. Four CONCACAF clubs will take part in that tournament, alongside 12 UEFA teams, six from South America, four each from Africa and Asia, and one from Oceania.

Currently, the winners of the CONCACAF Champions League qualify for the Club World Cup. The mechanics of how three more CONCACAF teams will be allowed into the Club World Cup from 2025 and presently unclear.

CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani has previously said that increased international competition is vital for the growth of the game in the region.

“This will elevate clubs and leagues from CONCACAF and provide even more compelling regional rivalries. It will also provide more international relevance to our club competitions, and a very competitive pathway as clubs strive to qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup and succeed on the global stage,” he said recently.