World Cup 2026: Host stadiums, dates, fixture schedule, format and teams qualified 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.

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But there are set to be even more changes to the next tournament which is now just a few months 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, 2026 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 draw for the group stage of the World Cup will take place on Friday, December 5 at 5pm.

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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.

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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.

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
• Leviâ€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: 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.

Qualifying for the World Cup has nearly concluded with the last six teams waiting to be decided via the play-offs.

For UEFA, there have been 12 qualifying groups, with the winners getting a place at the World Cup.

The runners-up all enter a play-off and four more will join, making a total of 16 European sides, which is up from 13 in 2022.

The UEFA play-offs will be held in March 2026 and will include 16 sides with four set to book their places.

Elsewhere, the qualifying stage is complete 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, while there is also set to be an intercontinental play-off at the end of the qualifying phase.

That play-off will also take place in March 2026 and will consist of teams from every confederation, bar UEFA.

From the six sides involved, two will go to the World Cup.

World Cup 2026: Representation

• AFC: Eight teams [possibly nine depending on intercontinental play-off] – up from six in 2022
• CAF: Nine teams [possibly ten depending on intercontinental play-off] – up from five in 2022
• CONCACAF: Three teams, plus three host nations [possibly two more depending on intercontinental play-off] – up from four in 2022
• CONMEBOL: Six teams [possibly seven depending on intercontinental play-off – up from four in 2022
• OFC: One team [possibly two depending on intercontinental play-off] – up from zero in 2022
• UEFA: 16 teams – up from 13 in 2022

World Cup 2026: Qualified teams

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.

Hosts

• Canada
• Mexico
• United States of America

AFC

• Australia
• Iran
• Japan
• Jordan
• South Korea
• Uzbekistan

CAF

• Algeria
• Cape Verde
• Egypt
• Ghana
• Ivory Coast
• Morocco
• Senegal
• South Africa
• Tunisia

CONCACAF

• Panama
• Curacao
• Haiti

CONMEBOL

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Paraguay
• Uruguay

OFC

• New Zealand

UEFA

• Germany
• Switzerland
• Scotland
• France
• Spain
• Portugal
• Netherlands
• Austria
• Norway
• Belgium
• England
• Croatia

Play-offs

• UEFA play-off Path A winner (Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy or Northern Ireland)
• UEFA play-off Path B winner (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland or Albania)
• UEFA play-off Path C winner (Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey or Romania)
• UEFA play-off Path D winner (Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland, Denmark or North Macedonia)
• IC play-off Pathway 1 winner (New Caledonia, Jamaica or DR Congo)
• IC play-off Pathway 2 winner (Bolivia, Suriname or Iraq)

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/New Jersey.

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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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 Winner Odds: talkSPORT BET

• Spain – 4/1
• England – 6/1
• France – 7/1
• Brazil – 7/1
• Argentina – 8/1
• Portugal – 12/1
• Germany – 14/1
• Netherlands – 20/1
• Norway – 20/1

Visit talkSPORT BET for all World Cup betting odds.

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