2026 FIFA World Cup
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup. It's the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries. The main host country of matches is the United States, while Canada and Mexico will be the auxiliary hosts. This will be the first World Cup ever hosted by three nations.
This tournament marks a significant expansion, being the first to include 48 teams, up from the previous 32. The United 2026 bid triumphed over a rival bid by Morocco in a final vote at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow. This is also the first World Cup since 2002 to be hosted by more than one nation. With Mexico having hosted or co-hosted the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, it will become the first country to achieve this distinction three times for the men's World Cup. The United States last hosted in 1994, while this will be Canada's inaugural experience as a host or co-host. The event also returns to its traditional Northern Hemisphere summer schedule, a departure from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was held in November and December.
As host nations, Canada, Mexico, and the United States have all automatically qualified. Jordan and Uzbekistan will make their World Cup debuts. Argentina is the defending champion, having secured their third title in 2022.
The general idea of expanding the tournament had been suggested as early as 2013 by then-UEFA president Michel Platini, and again in 2016 by FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Opponents voiced concerns about the already high number of games, the potential dilution of game quality, and accusations that the decision was driven by political rather than sporting motives, with Infantino allegedly using the promise of more participating countries to win his election.
Starting with this edition, the FIFA World Cup expands to 48 teams, an increase of 16 from the previous seven tournaments. The teams will be divided into 12 groups of 4 teams. The top 2 from each group, along with the 8 best third-placed teams, will advance to a new round of 32, a format approved by the FIFA Council on March 14, 2023. This is the first expansion and format change since 1998. The total number of games played will jump from 64 to 104. Teams reaching the final four will play eight matches, up from seven. The tournament will span 39 days, an increase from the 32 days of the 2014 and 2018 tournaments. Each team will still play three group matches. The final matchday for players named in the final squads at club level is May 24, 2026, with clubs releasing their players by May 25, though exceptions are granted for players in continental club competition finals until May 30. The combined rest, release, and tournament periods remain identical to the 2010, 2014, and 2018 tournaments, at 56 days.
The expansion to 48 teams had been approved earlier, on January 10, 2017, with a proposed format of 16 groups of 3 teams, totaling 80 matches, and the top two from each group advancing to a round of 32. Under this superseded format, the maximum number of games per team would have remained at seven, but each team would have played one fewer group match. The tournament would still have concluded within 32 days. This format was chosen over three other proposals, ranging from 40 to 48 teams, 76 to 88 matches, and one to four minimum matches per team. Critics of that format argued that three-team groups with two advancing teams significantly increased the risk of collusion. This prompted FIFA to suggest that penalty shoot-outs might be used to prevent draws, though some risk of collusion would remain, and the possibility of teams deliberately losing shootouts to eliminate rivals could emerge. To address these concerns, FIFA continued exploring alternative formats, culminating in the 2023 announcement of the 12 groups of 4 teams.
The FIFA Council debated limitations on hosting rotation based on continental confederations between 2013 and 2017. Initially, bids were prohibited from confederations that had hosted the two preceding tournaments. This was temporarily changed to only disallow bids from the confederation that hosted the immediate prior World Cup, before reverting to the original rule of two World Cups. The FIFA Council made an exception, potentially granting eligibility to member associations of the confederation of the second-to-last host if no received bids met strict technical and financial requirements. In March 2017, FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that Europe and Asia were excluded from bidding due to Russia hosting in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, respectively. This left the remaining four confederations: CONCACAF, CAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC, or potentially UEFA if no bids from the others met the requirements. Co-hosting, banned by FIFA after the 2002 World Cup, was approved for 2026, not limited by number but evaluated case-by-case. For 2026, the FIFA general secretariat, after consultation with the Competitions Committee, gained the power to exclude bidders who didn't meet minimum technical requirements. Canada, Mexico, and the United States had all considered bidding individually, but the United joint bid was announced on April 10, 2017. In March 2022, Liga MX president Mikel Arriola claimed Mexico's co-hosting role could have been jeopardized if the league and federation hadn't responded swiftly to the Querétaro–Atlas riot. Arriola stated FIFA was "shocked" by the incident, but Infantino was satisfied with the sanctions against Querétaro.
The voting took place on June 13, 2018, during the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow, open to all 203 eligible members. The United bid secured 134 valid ballots, while Morocco's bid received 65. Iran voted for "None of the bids," and Cuba, Slovenia, and Spain abstained. Ghana was ineligible to vote due to a FIFA suspension for a corruption scandal.
During the bidding process, 41 cities with 43 existing venues submitted bids. A first-round elimination cut nine venues and cities, followed by a second-round elimination that cut an additional nine venues in six cities. Three venues in Chicago, Minneapolis, and Vancouver dropped out due to FIFA's reluctance to discuss financial details. After Montreal withdrew in July 2021, Vancouver rejoined the bid in April 2022, bringing the total to 24 venues. On June 16, 2022, FIFA announced the sixteen host cities: Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Monterrey, Mexico City, Toronto, Boston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Miami. Eight of the sixteen chosen stadiums have artificial turf surfaces, which will be replaced with grass. Four venues are indoor stadiums with retractable roofs and climate control, and a fifth, Los Angeles, has a translucent roof. MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, was announced as the host of the final on February 4, 2024. While soccer-specific stadiums exist in Canada and the U.S., Geodis Park in Nashville, the largest dedicated soccer-specific stadium in the U.S., seats 30,000, falling short of FIFA's 40,000 minimum. Stadiums like Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Gillette Stadium, and Lumen Field are used by NFL and MLS teams. Primarily used for American football, all Canadian and American stadiums have been used for soccer and are designed to host the sport. Mexico City is the only capital city among the three host nations selected as a venue. Washington D.C. was a candidate city but, due to the poor state of FedExField, combined its bid with Baltimore's, which was unsuccessful. Other cities eliminated from the final list included Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, and Edmonton. Ottawa's candidate venue was eliminated early due to insufficient capacity. None of the stadiums used in the 1994 FIFA World Cup will be used in this tournament, with Estadio Azteca being the only one previously used in 1970 and 1986. Due to FIFA's rules on stadium sponsorships, venues will use alternative names during the tournament.
Base camps will be utilized by the 48 national squads for accommodation and training before and during the World Cup.
The United Bid personnel anticipated automatic berths for all three host countries. On August 31, 2022, FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that six CONCACAF teams would qualify, with Canada, Mexico, and the United States automatically qualifying as hosts, confirmed by the FIFA Council on February 14, 2023. Immediately prior to the 67th FIFA Congress, the FIFA Council approved the slot allocation, including an intercontinental playoff tournament involving six teams to decide the final two World Cup spots. These six teams will comprise one from each confederation excluding UEFA, and one additional team from CONCACAF. Two seeded teams will play the winners of knockout games between the four unseeded teams for the two berths. This four-game tournament will be held in one or more host countries and serve as a test event. The slot allocation also grants OFC a guaranteed berth for the first time, meaning all six confederations will have at least one guaranteed spot. This is also the first time since 2010 that all continents will have a team qualified for the World Cup finals. Eritrea withdrew from qualification before playing any matches, citing concerns about players seeking political asylum. Congo was suspended on February 6, 2025, due to government interference, leading to CAF initially cancelling their remaining matches. Tanzania and Zambia were later awarded 3-0 victories by forfeit. The suspension was lifted by FIFA on May 14, 2025. Of the 18 teams qualified to date, 13 also appeared in the 2022 edition. Colombia returns after missing the previous tournament, while New Zealand and Paraguay return after last appearing in 2010. Jordan and Uzbekistan will debut. Notable absences include Chile, the 2015 and 2016 Copa América winners, missing their third consecutive World Cup.
The draw will take place at 12:00 UTC−5 (EST) on December 5, 2025, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The winners of the UEFA and inter-confederation playoffs won't be known at this time, as those matches are scheduled for March 2026. As the first game is confirmed for Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on June 11, Mexico has been automatically placed in Group A. Canada will play the second match and is in Group B, while the United States will play the third match and is in Group D.
The match schedule, without group assignments, was announced on February 4, 2024. On June 13, 2024, FIFA released an updated schedule, with specific pairings for knockout stage matches and group stage matches assigned to specific groups. The opening match will feature Mexico on June 11, 2026, at Estadio Azteca. Canada's opening match is on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto, and the United States' opening game is the same day at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Each host nation will play its three group stage matches within its own country. AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will host the most matches with nine. MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will host the final on July 19. The United States will host 78 matches, including from the quarter-final stage onwards, while Canada and Mexico will each host 13. Each tournament venue, except Estadio Akron, will host at least one knockout stage fixture. The schedule will overlap with the 2026 CFL season, causing scheduling conflicts for the Toronto Argonauts and BC Lions. Host cities were geographically grouped to optimize travel, with the exception of Canada and its opening game opponent in Toronto. Cities were split into three regions: Western, Central, and Eastern. Four of the 12 groups were allocated to the Central region, three to the Western, a shared-region group with Canada, and the rest in the Eastern region.
Prior to the final draw, stadiums were assigned to specific groups. Following the draw, pairings will be allocated to specific matches, and kickoff times will be confirmed.
The specific match-ups involving the third-placed teams depend on which eight teams qualify for the round of 32. The 495 possible combinations were published in Annex C of the tournament regulations.
The official emblem and brand identity was unveiled on May 17, 2023, at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. Its basic form is a stacked "26" with an image of the FIFA World Cup Trophy in front, marking the first time the trophy has been depicted as a photo in an emblem. Variants for each host city were unveiled the next day, featuring color variations and designs reflecting local landscapes or culture. Initial reactions to the logo were largely negative, with many finding it unfinished or uncreative. However, United States national team player Jesús Ferreira described the emblem as "beautiful."
On February 12, 2015, FIFA renewed the U.S. and Canadian broadcasting rights contracts for Fox, NBCUniversal, and Bell Media to cover 2026, without accepting other bids. A report in The New York Times suggested this extension was compensation for the 2022 World Cup's rescheduling, which created conflicts with major professional sports leagues. The International Broadcast Center will be located at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
FIFA will stage fan festivals in cities across the host nations, featuring matches on giant screens and live entertainment. Confirmed locations include Liberty State Park in Jersey City, Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Fort York and The Bentway in Toronto, and East Downtown Houston.
Ticket prices for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will range from $60 for group stage matches to $6,730 for the final, a significant increase from the 2022 World Cup. In September 2025, FIFA confirmed it would use dynamic pricing for the first time. This means ticket prices can rise or fall depending on demand. Hospitality seats were made available in April 2025. An initial draw period for non-hospitality seats is occurring between September 10–19, limited to Visa cardholders. A second phase is expected from October 27–31, and a third phase will begin after the final draw on December 5. Sales will be capped at four tickets per person per match, with a maximum of 40 tickets per person for the entire tournament. FIFA is also expected to launch an official resale platform.
The official mascots will be known as Maple, Zayu, and Clutch.
On May 2, 2025, reports surfaced that the match ball would be called Adidas Trionda. The design features red, green, and blue, representing Canada, Mexico, and the United States, along with a white wave. The design also incorporates national symbols of the three host countries.
On May 17, 2023, the official theme song of the tournament was released, an instrumental track titled "FIFA World Cup 26 Theme Song." In March 2025, sixteen remixes were released, featuring artists from each host city.
In January 2025, Queen's University Belfast warned about potential heat risks for most host cities and urged FIFA to schedule matches later in the day, citing higher wet-bulb globe temperatures than in Qatar during winter. Climate activists have also raised concerns about the environmental impact of the expansion and travel, which will increase carbon emissions. A report by Scientists for Global Responsibility in July 2025 calculated that greenhouse gas emissions for the tournament would be nearly double the average of the last four tournaments.
In March 2025, the trade union Building and Wood Workers' International accused FIFA of blocking a planned labor inspection at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, raising concerns about potential labor rights violations.
On June 11, 2025, the Sports & Rights Alliance, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International called on FIFA to ensure human rights were upheld in the United States, particularly in light of police actions during anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles and concerns about LGBTQ rights.
During the bidding process, President Donald Trump's executive orders on immigration were touted as a potential risk. Infantino stated that any qualified team must have access to the country. In response, the Trump administration sent letters to FIFA expressing confidence that all eligible individuals would be able to enter the U.S. without discrimination. Concerns around the staging of the tournament were also raised due to the immigration policy of the second Donald Trump administration. Vice President JD Vance stated that "everybody is welcome to come and see this incredible event, but when the time is up, they’ll have to go home." In June 2025, a second travel ban was enacted, though it includes an exemption for athletes and their support teams.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries; the main host country of matches is the United States, while Canada and Mexico will be the auxiliary hosts. The tournament will be the first to be hosted by three nations.
This tournament will be the first to include 48 teams, expanded from 32. The United 2026 bid beat a rival bid by Morocco during a final vote at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow. It will be the first World Cup since 2002 to be hosted by more than one nation. With its past hosting of the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, Mexico will become the first country to host or co-host the men's World Cup three times. The United States last hosted the men's World Cup in 1994, whereas it will be Canada's first time hosting or co-hosting the men's tournament. The event will also return to its traditional Northern Hemisphere summer schedule after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was held in November and December.
As the host nations, Canada, Mexico, and the United States all automatically qualified. Jordan and Uzbekistan will make their World Cup debuts. Argentina is the defending champion, having won its third title in 2022.
== Format and expansion ==
The general idea of expanding the tournament had been suggested as early as 2013 by then-UEFA president Michel Platini, and also in 2016 by FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Opponents of the proposal argued that the number of games played was already at an unacceptable level, that the expansion would dilute the quality of the games, and that the decision was driven by political rather than sporting concerns, accusing Infantino of using the promise of bringing more countries to the World Cup to win his election.
Starting with this edition, the FIFA World Cup expanded to 48 teams, an increase of 16 from the previous 7 tournaments. The teams will be split into 12 groups of 4 teams, with the top 2 of each group and the 8 best third-placed teams progressing to a new round of 32, as approved by the FIFA Council on March 14, 2023. This is set to be the first expansion and format change since 1998.
The total number of games played will increase from 64 to 104, and the number of games played by teams reaching the final four will increase from seven to eight. The tournament will last 39 days, an increase from 32 days of the 2014 and 2018 tournaments. Each team will still play three group matches. The final matchday at club level for players named in the final squads is May 24, 2026; clubs have to release their players by May 25, with exceptions granted to players participating in continental club competition finals up until May 30. The 56 days of the combined rest, release, and tournament periods remains identical to the 2010, 2014 and 2018 tournaments.
=== Previous expansion formats ===
The expansion to 48 teams had already been approved on January 10, 2017, when it was decided that the tournament would include 16 groups of 3 teams, and 80 matches in total, with the top two teams of each group progressing to a round of 32. Under this later-superseded format, the maximum number of games per team would have remained at seven, but each team would have played one fewer group match than before. The tournament still would have been completed within 32 days. The later-superseded format was chosen over three other proposals, ranging from 40 to 48 teams, from 76 to 88 matches, and from one to four minimum matches per team.
Critics of the later-superseded format argued that the use of three-team groups with two teams progressing significantly increased the risk of collusion between teams. This prompted FIFA to suggest that penalty shoot-outs may be used to prevent draws in the group stage, although even then some risk of collusion would remain, and a possibility would emerge of teams deliberately losing shootouts to eliminate a rival. To address these concerns, FIFA continued considering alternative formats – a process that ended with the 2023 announcement that the format would be 12 groups of 4 teams.
== Host selection ==
The FIFA Council went back and forth between 2013 and 2017 on limitations within hosting rotation based on the continental confederations. Originally, it was set that bids to be host would not be allowed from countries belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments. It was temporarily changed to only prohibit countries belonging to the confederation that hosted the previous World Cup from bidding to host the following tournament, before the rule was changed back to its prior state of two World Cups.
The FIFA Council made an exception to potentially grant eligibility to member associations of the confederation of the second-to-last host of the FIFA World Cup in the event that none of the received bids fulfill the strict technical and financial requirements. In March 2017, FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that "Europe (UEFA) and Asia (AFC) are excluded from the bidding following the selection of Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022 respectively." Therefore, the 2026 World Cup could be hosted by one of the remaining four confederations: CONCACAF (North America; last hosted in 1994), CAF (Africa; last hosted in 2010), CONMEBOL (South America; last hosted in 2014), or OFC (Oceania, never hosted before), or potentially by UEFA in case no bid from those four met the requirements.
Co-hosting the FIFA World Cup—which had been banned by FIFA after the 2002 World Cup—was approved for the 2026 World Cup, though not limited to a specific number but instead evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Also for 2026, the FIFA general secretariat, after consultation with the Competitions Committee, had the power to exclude bidders who did not meet the minimum technical requirements to host the competition.
Canada, Mexico, and the United States had all publicly considered bidding for the tournament separately, but the United joint bid was announced on April 10, 2017. In March 2022, Liga MX president Mikel Arriola claimed Mexico's involvement as cohost could have been at risk if the league and the federation had not responded quickly to the Querétaro–Atlas riot between rival fans that left 26 spectators injured and resulted in 14 arrests. Arriola said FIFA was "shocked" by the incident but Infantino was satisfied with the sanctions handed down against Querétaro.
=== Voting ===
The voting took place on June 13, 2018, during the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow, and it was opened to all 203 eligible members. The United bid won with 134 valid ballots, while the Morocco bid received 65 valid ballots. Iran voted for the option "None of the bids", while Cuba, Slovenia, and Spain abstained from voting. Ghana was suspended by FIFA due to a corruption scandal and was therefore ineligible to vote.
== Venues ==
During the bidding process, 41 cities with 43 existing, fully functional venues with regular tenants (except Montreal) and 2 venues under construction submitted to be part of the bid (3 venues in 3 cities in Mexico; 9 venues in 7 cities in Canada; 38 venues in 34 cities in the United States). A first-round elimination cut nine venues and nine cities. A second-round elimination cut an additional nine venues in six cities, while three venues in three cities (Chicago, Minneapolis, and Vancouver) dropped out due to FIFA's unwillingness to discuss financial details. After Montreal dropped out in July 2021 due to lack of provincial funding and support to renovate the Olympic Stadium, Vancouver rejoined the bid as a candidate city in April 2022, bringing the total number to 24 venues, each in its own city or metropolitan area.
On June 16, 2022, the sixteen host cities (2 in Canada, 3 in Mexico, 11 in the United States) were announced by FIFA: Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Monterrey, Mexico City, Toronto, Boston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Miami. Eight of the sixteen chosen stadiums have permanent artificial turf surfaces that are planned to be replaced with grass under the direction of FIFA and a University of Tennessee–Michigan State University research team. Four venues (Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and Vancouver) are indoor stadiums that use retractable roof systems, all equipped with climate control while a fifth, Los Angeles, is open-air but has a translucent roof and no climate control. The host of the final match—MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey—was announced by FIFA on February 4, 2024.
Although there are soccer-specific stadiums in Canada and the United States, the largest dedicated soccer-specific stadium in the U.S., Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee, seats 30,000, which falls short of FIFA's minimum of 40,000 (Toronto's BMO Field is being expanded from 30,000 to 45,500 for this tournament). Stadiums including Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, and Lumen Field in Seattle are used by National Football League (NFL) and Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. Although primarily used for gridiron football, with the American stadiums hosting NFL teams and Canada's hosting the Canadian Football League (CFL), all of the Canadian and American stadiums have been used on numerous occasions for soccer and are also designed to host that sport.
Mexico City is the only capital of the three host nations chosen as a venue site, with Ottawa and Washington, D.C., joining Bonn (West Germany, 1974) and Tokyo (Japan, 2002) as the only capital cities not selected to host World Cup matches. Washington was a host city candidate, but due to the poor state of FedExField, it combined its bid with nearby Baltimore's, which was unsuccessful. Other cities eliminated from the final hosting list were Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, and Edmonton. Ottawa's candidate venue, TD Place Stadium, was eliminated early on due to insufficient capacity. None of the stadiums used in the 1994 FIFA World Cup will be used in this tournament, and Estadio Azteca is the only stadium in this tournament that was used in the 1970 and 1986 FIFA World Cups.
Due to FIFA's rules on stadium sponsorships, the venues will use alternative names for the duration of the tournament, given here in parentheses.
A † denotes a stadium used for previous men's World Cup tournaments.
A ‡ denotes an indoor stadium with a fixed or retractable roof with interior climate control.
=== Team base camps ===
Base camps will be used by the 48 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament.
== Teams ==
=== Qualification ===
The United Bid personnel anticipated that all three host countries would be awarded automatic berths. On August 31, 2022, FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed that six CONCACAF teams will qualify for the World Cup, with Canada, Mexico, and the United States automatically qualifying as hosts. This was confirmed by the FIFA Council on February 14, 2023.
Immediately prior to the 67th FIFA Congress, the FIFA Council approved the slot allocation in a meeting in Manama, Bahrain. This includes an intercontinental playoff tournament involving six teams to decide the last two FIFA World Cup spots.
The six teams in the playoffs will comprise one team from each confederation excluding UEFA, and one additional team from the confederation of the host countries (CONCACAF). Two of the teams will be seeded based on the World Rankings, and they will play the winners of two knockout games between the four unseeded teams for the two FIFA World Cup berths. The four-game tournament is to be played in one or more of the host countries, and will also be used as a test event for the FIFA World Cup. The ratification of slot allocation also gives the OFC a guaranteed berth in the final tournament for the first time: the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first tournament in which all six confederations have at least one guaranteed berth. This will also be the first time since the 2010 edition in which all continents have a team qualified for the World Cup finals.
Eritrea withdrew from qualification prior to playing any matches, due to concerns that players would seek political asylum if allowed to travel overseas. Congo, drawn in the same group as Eritrea, was suspended on February 6, 2025, due to government interference in FECOFOOT operations. CAF initially cancelled Congo's remaining matches. However, Tanzania and Zambia were later awarded 3–0 victories by forfeit. The suspension was lifted by FIFA on May 14, 2025.
Of the 18 teams that have qualified to date, 13 had also appeared in the 2022 edition. Colombia returns to the tournament after missing the previous edition in 2022, while New Zealand and Paraguay return to the tournament having last appeared in 2010. Jordan and Uzbekistan will make their World Cup debuts. Notable absences include Chile, the 2015 and 2016 Copa América winners, missing its third consecutive World Cup.
The teams that have qualified to date, sorted by region:
=== Draw ===
The draw will take place at 12:00 UTC−5 (EST) on December 5, 2025, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The four winners of the UEFA playoffs and the two winners of the inter-confederation playoffs will not be known at the time of the draw, as these matches are scheduled to take place in March 2026.
As it has already been confirmed that the first game of the tournament will take place at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on June 11, Mexico has been automatically placed in Group A. Canada will play the second match and has been placed in Group B, while the United States will play the third match and is in Group D.
== Match schedule ==
The match schedule, without group assignments, was announced on February 4, 2024. On June 13, 2024, FIFA released an updated match schedule, with specific pairings assigned to venues for knockout stage matches. In addition, group stage matches were assigned to specific groups (though match pairings for non-host groups will not be assigned to specific fixtures until after the final draw).
The opening match was announced to include Mexico, taking place on June 11, 2026, at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The opening match involving Canada will take place on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto, while the opening game for the United States will take place on the same day at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Each host nation was scheduled to play its three matches in the group stage within its own country.
AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will host the most matches of any venue at the tournament with nine. MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, will host the final on July 19. The United States will host 78 matches, including from the quarter-final stage onward, while Canada and Mexico will each host 13. Each tournament venue, except for the Estadio Akron, will host at least one knockout stage fixture. The match schedule will overlap with the 2026 CFL season, resulting in scheduling conflicts and loss of home games for the Toronto Argonauts and BC Lions.
Host cities were geographically grouped to optimize travel for teams and fans, with the exception of Canada and its opponent for the opening game in Toronto. Cities were split into three regions:
Western Region (Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles)
Central Region (Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City)
Eastern Region (Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, New York/New Jersey).
Four out of 12 groups were allocated for the Central region, three groups in the Western region, a shared-region group with Canada and the rest in the Eastern region.
== Group stage ==
Prior to the final draw, stadiums were assigned to specific groups. Following the final draw, pairings will be allocated to specific matches, and the kickoff times will be confirmed.
=== Group A ===
=== Group B ===
=== Group C ===
=== Group D ===
=== Group E ===
=== Group F ===
=== Group G ===
=== Group H ===
=== Group I ===
=== Group J ===
=== Group K ===
=== Group L ===
=== Ranking of third-placed teams ===
The specific match-ups involving the third-placed teams depend on which eight third-placed teams qualify for the round of 32. The 495 possible combinations were published in Annex C of the tournament regulations.
== Knockout stage ==
=== Bracket ===
=== Round of 32 ===
=== Round of 16 ===
=== Quarterfinals ===
=== Semifinals ===
=== Third place playoff ===
=== Final ===
== Marketing ==
=== Branding ===
The official emblem and brand identity was unveiled on May 17, 2023, at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California; its basic form consists of a stacked "26" with an image of the FIFA World Cup Trophy in front of it (marking the first time that the trophy has been depicted in a World Cup emblem as a photo, as opposed to a stylized representation), but it is designed to be adaptable to different backdrops. The next day, FIFA unveiled variants of the emblem for each of the host cities, which feature color variants and designs that reflect local landscapes or culture (with the Los Angeles emblem featuring a stylized sun and wave, the Monterrey emblem featuring imagery of the Cerro de la Silla mountain, and Toronto featuring the city skyline and the CN Tower).
Reaction to the logo from the initial unveiling was largely negative, with many feeling that the design was either unfinished or uncreative compared to the emblems of past FIFA World Cup tournaments. By contrast, United States national team player Jesús Ferreira described the emblem as "beautiful".
=== Broadcasting rights ===
On February 12, 2015, FIFA renewed the U.S. and Canadian broadcasting rights contracts for Fox (U.S. English), NBCUniversal (U.S. Spanish), and Bell Media (Canada) to cover 2026, without accepting any other bids. A report in The New York Times asserted that this extension was intended as compensation for the rescheduling of the 2022 World Cup to November–December rather than its traditional June–July scheduling, as it created considerable conflicts with major professional sports leagues that are normally in their offseasons during the World Cup.
The International Broadcast Center (IBC) will be located at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
=== Sponsorships ===
=== City sponsors ===
=== FIFA fan festivals ===
FIFA will stage fan festivals in cities across the host nations, featuring matches on giant screens and live entertainment. Among the confirmed fan fest locations are Liberty State Park in Jersey City, Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Fort York and The Bentway in Toronto, and East Downtown Houston.
=== Tickets ===
Ticket prices for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will range initially from $60 for group stage matches to $6,730 for the final—largely increased from the USD equivalent of $69 to $1,607 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, in September 2025, FIFA confirmed it would use dynamic pricing for tickets for the first time, following the practice used in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Dynamic pricing means ticket prices can rise or fall depending on demand for any given match. Hospitality seats were made available in April 2025 via FIFA's ticket partner for the event.
An initial draw period for non-hospitality seats is occurring between September 10–19, limited to Visa cardholders.
A second phase is expected to run from October 27–31 and a third phase will start after the final draw of teams on December 5. Sales will be capped at four tickets per person per match, and no person will be able to purchase more than 40 tickets for the overall tournament. FIFA is also expected to start an official resale platform.
== Symbols ==
=== Mascots ===
The official mascots will be known as Maple, Zayu, and Clutch.
=== Match ball ===
On May 2, 2025, reports surfaced that the match ball would be called Adidas Trionda. The design features red, green, and blue (the three colors representing Canada, Mexico, and the United States, respectively, and also featured on the host countries' flags), as well as a white wave connecting each of the colors, hence the name using the Spanish words for three (tri) and wave (onda). The design also features the national symbols of the three host countries (a maple leaf for Canada, a golden eagle for Mexico, and a five-pointed star for the United States).
=== Music ===
On May 17, 2023, the official theme song of the tournament was released, an instrumental track simply titled "FIFA World Cup 26 Theme Song". In March 2025, sixteen remixes of theme were released which featured artists from each host city giving their own local spin to the song.
The remixers for each city were:
Atlanta – Dallas Austin
Boston – Ben Zakharenko, Dayvin, Berklee College of Music
Dallas – Tre Nagella
Guadalajara – Bautista
Houston – Bombón
Kansas City – Tech N9ne
Los Angeles – DJ Flict
Mexico City – Mexican Institute of Sound
Miami – Mr. NaisGai
Monterrey – Toy Selectah
New York/New Jersey – Take a Daytrip
Philadelphia – DJ Jazzy Jeff
San Francisco Bay Area – Dan the Automator
Seattle – Sango
Toronto – Hill Kourkoutis
Vancouver – Grayson Repp
== Controversies ==
=== Climate concerns ===
In January 2025, Queen's University Belfast warned about potential heat risks for most of the host cities and urged FIFA to schedule match kickoffs later into the afternoon or evening, stating that the wet-bulb globe temperature in certain host cities was higher than that of Qatar in the winter. Concerns have also been raised by climate activists about the environmental impact of both the expansion to 48 teams as well as traveling between host cities, most of which will require extensive air travel and increase carbon emissions, a counter to one of FIFA's goals on sustainability. During the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which was also hosted in the United States, several matches reported high temperatures ranging from 90 to 102 °F (32 to 39 °C) and weather delays. A report by Scientists for Global Responsibility in July 2025 calculated that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions for the tournament would make it one of the most polluting events in the world as it would be almost double the average for the last four tournaments (2022 reportedly had 5.25 million metric tons (5.79 million short tons)), roughly the same amount as 6.5 million cars driven for a year.
=== Labor rights concerns in Mexico ===
In March 2025, the trade union Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) accused FIFA of blocking a planned labor inspection at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca, which is undergoing renovations in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. According to BWI, FIFA's intervention prevented inspectors from evaluating working conditions at the site, raising concerns about potential labor rights violations similar to alleged instances of slave labor at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
=== Human rights concerns in the United States ===
On June 11, 2025, the Sports & Rights Alliance, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International called on FIFA to ensure that human rights in the United States were upheld during the tournament, especially in light of the use of force during the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles where journalists and protesters were attacked by local police. The groups also called on the United States to ensure that LGBTQ rights were upheld during the tournament in light of the Trump administration's erosion of said rights.
=== United States immigration enforcement ===
During the bidding process, President Donald Trump's executive orders regarding immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries implemented during his first term were touted as a potential risk. Infantino stated, "any team, including the supporters and officials of that team, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup." In response, the Trump administration sent letters to FIFA that read, in part, that Trump was "confident" that "all eligible athletes, officials and fans from all countries around the world would be able to enter the United States without discrimination."
Concerns around the staging of the tournament were also raised due to the immigration policy of the second Donald Trump administration. In response, Vice President JD Vance said, "Of course, everybody is welcome to come and see this incredible event, but when the time is up, they’ll have to go home. Otherwise, they’ll have to talk to Secretary Noem." In June 2025, a second travel ban was enacted, though it contains an exemption for athletes and their support teams entering the United States for events such as the FIFA World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting events as determined by the Secretary of State.
== See also ==
2027 FIFA Women's World Cup
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
FIFA World Cup 2026, FIFA.com
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