There is a change to how teams sing national anthems at the 2026 World Cup. FIFA announced the change. For the first time, all players in the squads will sing their anthem. FIFA's president said that as the World Cup grows, FIFA will continue to improve how the game is experienced. He said the pre-match ceremony is one improvement. He added that the World Cup is about every player and fan, and the new ceremony shows that.
FIFA said all players singing will improve the pre-match atmosphere. All squad members will stand around the centre circle and sing. FIFA said having players face each other in the centre circle will create pride in the teams and fans in the stadium. Other parts of the ceremony stay the same. Team captains will still toss a coin. Players from each team will also still shake hands with players from the other team.
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2026 FIFA World Cup - Level 0, 2026 FIFA World Cup - Level 2 or 2026 FIFA World Cup - Level 3
Sources- https://www.si.com/soccer/fifa-makes-major-pre-match-change-ahead-2026-world-cup
- https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/fifa-announce-fan-centric-change-081952835.html
- https://worldsoccertalk.com/world-cup/fifa-president-gianni-infantino-announces-new-national-anthem-protocol-for-2026-world-cup/
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