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World Cup 2026: Groups, fixture schedule, host stadium locations, format and date for the final as tournament breaks new ground
The upcoming 2026 World Cup is set to break new ground as FIFA continues to expand and develop its showpiece tournament.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar was unlike any other, being held over the winter due to concerns about the weather, causing huge disruptions to domestic football around the globe.
But there are set to be even more changes to the next tournament, which is now just a few weeks away.
The World Cup is held every four years, being staged on a different continent in each edition.
After Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018, the famous competition headed to the Persian Gulf and will now be on the move again for the next edition with a host of new introductions.
Lionel Messi and Argentina are the reigning champions after their incredible victory in Qatar.
They will head into this tournament as Copa America winners while Spain are the European champions and will be eyeing world glory again.
Thomas Tuchel‘s England will also be among the favourites for victory after they breezed through qualification.
With just a few months to go, here’s everything you need to know about the World Cup…
World Cup 2026: Dates
The 2026 World Cup will get underway on Thursday, June 11 and run until the final on Sunday, July 19.
FIFA is eager to keep the tournament’s ‘footprint’ to 57 days, meaning there would be 16 days of preparation and then 39 days of competition.
The 2025/26 Premier League season will finish on Sunday, May 24, while the Champions League final will be held on Saturday, May 30.
The upcoming World Cup will have 13 different kick-off times, ranging from 5pm BST to 5am.
The most frequent kick-off time in the group stage will be 8pm BST, with 12 games to be held then.
There will 35 group stage matches held between midnight at 5am UK time.
World Cup 2026: Location
Like the Qatar tournament, the 2026 World Cup will also break new ground for FIFA.
That’s because it will be held across three countries – United States, Canada and Mexico.
The trio’s bid was voted ahead of the proposal from Morocco.
The 2002 tournament was held in South Korea and Japan, but the World Cup has never had three host nations before – all of whom have automatically qualified.
There will be 16 host cities – 11 in the USA, two in Canada and three in Mexico.
The stadiums being used include the 83,264-capacity Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, New York’s MetLife Stadium and Vancouver’s BC Place.
Several NFL venues will be used to provide huge crowds with 12 of the 16 stadia having capacities over 65,000.
It has also been confirmed that the MetLife Stadium, which holds 82,500 people, will host the final.
The opening game of the tournament will be held at the Estadio Azteca and will see Mexico kick off the action in Group A.
If you’re interested in buying match tickets to see World Cup 2026 live, read our article on how to get World Cup tickets.
World Cup 2026: Stadiums
United States
- SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, California: 70,240 capacity
- MetLife Stadium, New York City, New York: 82,500 capacity
- AT&T Stadium, Dallas, Texas: 80,000 capacity
- Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri: 76,416 capacity
- NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas: 72,220 capacity
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia: 75,000 capacity
- Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 67,594 capacity
- Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington: 68,740 capacity
- Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco, California: 68,500 capacity
- Gillette Stadium, Boston, Massachusetts: 65,878 capacity
- Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida: 65,326 capacity
Mexico
- Estadio Azteca, Mexico City: 83,264 capacity
- Estadio BBVA Bancomer, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon: 53,500 capacity
- Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Jalisco: 46,355 capacity
Canada
- BC Place, Vancouver, British Columbia: 54,500 capacity
- BMO Field, Toronto, Ontario: 40,000 capacity
World Cup 2026: Half-time show
Gianni Infantino has announced that for the first time ever there will be a half-time show during the World Cup.
The half-time show in the Super Bowl has become a huge part of the event, and the the 2026 World Cup final will follow a similar pattern.
British band Coldplay are set to be involved, but not as performers.
Instead, they are going to help pick the actual artists.
Speaking about this addition on social media, Infantino said: “This will be a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup and a show befitting the biggest sporting event in the world.”
World Cup 2026: Teams and group format
The 2026 World Cup will be the first to include 48 teams, up from 32.
The expanded format was green-lit by the FIFA Council and it will feature a new look of 12 groups of four.
Winners and runners-up in each of those 12 four-team groups will advance to a new Round of 32, where they will be joined by the eight best third-placed teams.
It adds up to a total of 104 matches, up from 64 in Qatar and qualifying for the World Cup has now concluded.
For UEFA, there have been 12 qualifying groups, with the winners getting a place at the World Cup.
The runners-up all entered a play-off and four have joined, making a total of 16 European sides, which is up from 13 in 2022.
Elsewhere, the qualifying stages have also been completed in Asia [AFC], Africa [CAF], South America [CONMEBOL], North and Central America [CONCACAF] and Oceania [OFC].
All of these confederations have seen an increase in places, and there were also intercontinental play-offs to decide the other two teams.
World Cup 2026: Qualified teams and groups
The three host nations [USA, Mexico and Canada] automatically got a place at the World Cup.
And they have now been joined by plenty of countries, including England, Brazil, France and Argentina.
But some big names have missed out such as Serbia, Greece and Hungary from Europe, Nigeria and Cameroon from Africa plus the likes of Costa Rica, Peru and Chile.
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic
Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey
Group E: Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia
Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia
Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama
World Cup 2026: Schedule
Group stages: June 11 / 27
Matches to be played in Vancouver, Toronto, Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Seattle, San Francisco. Los Angeles, Houston. Dallas, Kansas City, Atlanta. Miami, Boston, Philadelphia and New York.
The action will kick off with Mexico in Group A on Thursday, June 11 in Mexico City.
Round of 32: June 28 / July 3
Matches to be played in Vancouver, Toronto, Mexico City, Monterrey, Seattle, San Francisco. Los Angeles, Houston. Dallas, Kansas City, Atlanta. Miami, Boston, and New York.
Round of 16: July 4 / 7
Matches to be played in Vancouver, Seattle, Mexico City, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia and New York.
Quarter-finals: July 9 / 11
Matches to be played in Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami and Boston.
Semi-finals: July 14 / 15
Matches to be played in Dallas and Atlanta.
Third place play-off: Saturday, July 18
Penultimate game to be played in Miami.
Final: Sunday, July 19
Final to be held at MetLife Stadium in New York.
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