FIFA World Cup 2026 Schedule Unveiled: Preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026 are in full swing. The full schedule of the tournament was released on Saturday at a ceremony held in Washington D.C. The upcoming World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States (USA), Mexico, and Canada. For the first time, 48 teams will participate in the football World Cup, making it the largest World Cup in history.
Also Read: Virat Kohli on the verge of repeating history, a feat he achieved 7 years ago The 38-day tournament will begin on June 11 at the iconic Estadio Azteca stadium in Mexico City, where Mexico and South Africa will face each other in the opening match. This stadium has previously hosted the opening matches of the 1970 and 1986 World Cups. The United States will begin its campaign the next day, June 12, against Paraguay in Los Angeles, while the Canadian team will play its first match against the winner of UEFA Playoff-A in Toronto. Lionel Messi's Argentina team is in Group J. Defending champions Argentina will face Algeria in their first match, followed by matches against Austria and Jordan. Fans will witness several big matches in the group stage itself. These include Brazil vs Morocco, Germany vs Curaçao, Netherlands vs Japan, and England vs Croatia. The tournament matches will be played in cities like New York, Houston, Miami, Vancouver, Dallas, and Guadalajara.
The 48 participating teams in the tournament have been divided into 12 groups of four teams each. Then, 32 teams will advance to the Round of 32, marking the beginning of the knockout rounds. The whole world will be watching on July 19, 2026, when the new world football champion will be decided at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
FIFA World Cup 2026 Full Schedule
June 11 Mexico vs. South Africa (Group A) – Mexico City South Korea vs. UEFA Playoff D (Group A) – Guadalajara
June 12 Canada vs. UEFA Playoff A (Group B) – Toronto USA vs. Paraguay (Group D) – Los Angeles
June 13 Brazil vs. Morocco (Group C) – Boston or New York/New Jersey Australia vs. UEFA Playoff C (Group D) – Vancouver Haiti vs. Scotland (Group C) - Boston or New York/New Jersey Qatar vs. Switzerland (Group B) – San Francisco Bay Area
June 14 Germany vs. Curaçao (Group E) – Philadelphia or Houston Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador (Group E) - Philadelphia or Houston Netherlands vs. Japan (Group F) - Dallas or Monterrey UEFA Playoff B vs. Tunisia (Group F) - Dallas or Monterrey
June 15 Spain vs. Cape Verde (Group H) - Miami or Atlanta Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay (Group H) - Miami or Atlanta Belgium vs. Egypt (Group G) - Los Angeles or Seattle Iran vs. New Zealand (Group G) - Los Angeles or Seattle
June 16 France vs. Senegal (Group I) - New York/New Jersey or Boston FIFA Playoff 2 vs. Norway (Group I) - New York/New Jersey or Boston Argentina vs. Algeria (Group J) – Kansas City or San Francisco Bay Area Austria vs. Jordan (Group J) – Kansas City or San Francisco Bay Area
June 17 England vs. Croatia (Group L) – Toronto or Dallas Ghana vs. Panama (Group L) - Toronto or Dallas Portugal vs. FIFA Playoff 1 (Group K) – Houston or Mexico City Uzbekistan vs. Colombia (Group K) – Houston or Mexico City
June 18 UEFA Playoff D vs. South Africa (Group A) – Atlanta Switzerland vs. UEFA Playoff A (Group A) – Los Angeles Canada vs. Qatar (Group B) – Vancouver Mexico vs. South Korea (Group A) – Guadalajara
June 19 Brazil vs. Haiti (Group C) – Philadelphia or New York/New Jersey Scotland vs. Morocco (Group C) - Philadelphia or New York/New Jersey UEFA Playoff C vs. Paraguay (Group D) - San Francisco Bay Area USA vs. Australia (Group D) – Seattle
June 20 Germany vs. Ivory Coast (Group E) - Toronto or Kansas City Ecuador vs. Curaçao (Group E) - Toronto or Kansas City Netherlands vs. UEFA Playoff B (Group F) - Houston or Monterrey Tunisia vs. Japan (Group F) - Houston or Monterrey
June 21 Spain vs. Saudi Arabia (Group H) – Miami or Atlanta Uruguay vs. Cape Verde (Group H) - Miami or Atlanta Belgium vs. Iran (Group G) – Los Angeles or Vancouver New Zealand vs. Egypt (Group G) – Los Angeles or Vancouver
June 22 France vs. FIFA Playoff 2 (Group I) – New York/New Jersey or Philadelphia Norway vs. Senegal (Group I) - New York/New Jersey or Philadelphia Argentina vs. Austria (Group J) – Dallas or San Francisco Bay Area Jordan vs. Algeria (Group J) – Dallas or San Francisco Bay Area
June 23 England vs. Ghana (Group L) – Boston or Toronto Panama vs. Croatia (Group L) – Boston or Toronto Portugal vs. Uzbekistan (Group K) – Houston or Guadalajara Colombia vs. FIFA Playoff 1 (Group K) – Houston or Guadalajara
June 24 Scotland vs. Brazil (Group C) – Miami or Atlanta Morocco vs. Haiti (Group C) – Miami or Atlanta Canada vs. Switzerland (Group B) – Vancouver UEFA Playoff A vs. Qatar (Group B) – Seattle Mexico vs. UEFA Playoff D (Group A) – Mexico City South Korea vs. South Africa (Group A) – Monterrey
June 25 Ecuador vs. Germany (Group E) – Philadelphia or New York/New Jersey Curacao vs. Ivory Coast (Group E) - Philadelphia or New York/New Jersey Tunisia vs. Netherlands (Group F) – Dallas or Kansas City Japan vs. UEFA Playoff B (Group F) - Dallas or Kansas City USA vs. UEFA Playoff C (Group D) – Los Angeles Paraguay vs. Australia (Group D) – San Francisco Bay Area
June 26 Norway vs. France (Group I) – Boston or Toronto Senegal vs. FIFA Playoff 2 (Group I) – Boston or Toronto New Zealand vs. Belgium (Group G) – Seattle or Vancouver Egypt vs. Iran (Group G) – Seattle or Vancouver Uruguay vs. Spain (Group H) – Houston or Guadalajara Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia (Group H) - Houston or Guadalajara
June 27 Panama vs. England (Group L) – New York/New Jersey or Philadelphia Croatia vs. Ghana (Group L) – New York/New Jersey or Philadelphia Jordan vs. Argentina (Group J) – Kansas City or Dallas Algeria vs. Austria (Group J) – Kansas City or Dallas Colombia vs. Portugal (Group K) – Miami or Atlanta FIFA Playoff 1 vs. Uzbekistan (Group K) – Miami or Atlanta
Knockout Round Schedule
Round of 32: June 28 to July 3 Round of 16: July 4 to July 7 Quarterfinals: July 9 to July 11 Semifinals: July 14 and 15, AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas) and Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) Third-place match: July 18, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens World Cup Final: July 19, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
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