Bloody ridiculous. Unless California secedes of course, in which case I'm 100% on board.
If they are going to do this, at least avoid groups with an odd number of teams, otherwise we'll get a load of Austria vs. Germanys. FFS, with even numbers they still make sure all teams in a group play their final matches simultaneously. That's rather difficult with 3 teams in a group, unless they plan to have all 3 on the same pitch in the final match.
12 groups of 4, with the top 2 from each going through. The 8 best first-placed finishers get a bye into round two of the knockout stage, with the remaining 16 playing each other in round one of the knockout stage.