After years of anticipation, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is finally here. Co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, the 23rd edition of the global showpiece is set to be the largest, most ambitious tournament in football history.
With defending champions Argentina looking to retain their crown, the expanded 48-team format guarantees more matches, more drama, and a brand-new knockout structure. Ahead of the opening kickoff, here is your complete guide to the groups, the format, and the full day-by-day match schedule.
A New Era: The Tournament Format
For the first time, 48 teams will compete for the ultimate prize in global football. The teams have been drawn into 12 groups of four. From there, the top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to a newly created Round of 32. This adds an entirely new tier to the knockout stages, bringing the total number of matches to a staggering 104.
The Official World Cup Groups
- Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czechia
- Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland
- Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
- Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Turkiye
- 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
The Full Match Schedule
(All times listed in GMT)
Group Stage
Thursday, June 11
- 19:00 – Mexico vs South Africa (Mexico City)
- 02:00 (Fri) – South Korea vs Czechia (Zapopan)
Friday, June 12
- 19:00 – Canada vs Bosnia (Toronto)
- 01:00 (Sat) – USA vs Paraguay (Los Angeles)
Saturday, June 13
- 19:00 – Qatar vs Switzerland (San Francisco)
- 22:00 – Brazil vs Morocco (New Jersey)
- 01:00 (Sun) – Haiti vs Scotland (Boston)
- 04:00 (Sun) – Australia vs Turkiye (Vancouver)
Sunday, June 14
- 17:00 – Germany vs Curacao (Houston)
- 20:00 – Netherlands vs Japan (Dallas)
- 23:00 – Ivory Coast vs Ecuador (Philadelphia)
- 02:00 (Mon) – Sweden vs Tunisia (Guadalupe)
Monday, June 15
- 16:00 – Spain vs Cape Verde (Atlanta)
- 19:00 – Belgium vs Egypt (Vancouver)
- 22:00 – Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay (Miami)
- 01:00 (Tue) – Iran vs New Zealand (Los Angeles)
Tuesday, June 16
- 19:00 – France vs Senegal (New Jersey)
- 22:00 – Iraq vs Norway (Boston)
- 01:00 (Wed) – Argentina vs Algeria (Kansas City)
- 04:00 (Wed) – Austria vs Jordan (San Francisco)
Wednesday, June 17
- 17:00 – Portugal vs DRC (Houston)
- 20:00 – England vs Croatia (Dallas)
- 23:00 – Ghana vs Panama (Toronto)
- 02:00 (Thu) – Uzbekistan vs Colombia (Mexico City)
Thursday, June 18
- 16:00 – Czechia vs South Africa (Atlanta)
- 19:00 – Switzerland vs Bosnia (Los Angeles)
- 22:00 – Canada vs Qatar (Vancouver)
- 01:00 (Fri) – Mexico vs South Korea (Zapopan)
Friday, June 19
- 22:00 – Scotland vs Morocco (Boston)
- 19:00 – USA vs Australia (Seattle)
- 00:30 (Sat) – Brazil vs Haiti (Philadelphia)
- 03:00 (Sat) – Turkiye vs Paraguay (San Francisco)
Saturday, June 20
- 17:00 – Netherlands vs Sweden (Houston)
- 20:00 – Germany vs Ivory Coast (Toronto)
- 03:00 (Sun) – Ecuador vs Curacao (Kansas City)
- 04:00 (Sun) – Tunisia vs Japan (Guadalupe)
Sunday, June 21
- 16:00 – Spain vs Saudi Arabia (Atlanta)
- 19:00 – Belgium vs Iran (Los Angeles)
- 22:00 – Uruguay vs Cape Verde (Miami)
- 01:00 (Mon) – New Zealand vs Egypt (Vancouver)
Monday, June 22
- 17:00 – Argentina vs Austria (Dallas)
- 21:00 – France vs Iraq (Philadelphia)
- 00:00 (Tue) – Norway vs Senegal (New Jersey)
- 03:00 (Tue) – Jordan vs Algeria (San Francisco)
Tuesday, June 23
- 17:00 – Portugal vs Uzbekistan (Houston)
- 20:00 – England vs Ghana (Boston)
- 23:00 – Panama vs Croatia (Toronto)
- 02:00 (Wed) – Colombia vs DRC (Zapopan)
Wednesday, June 24
- 19:00 – Switzerland vs Canada (Vancouver)
- 19:00 – Bosnia vs Qatar (Seattle)
- 22:00 – Scotland vs Brazil (Miami)
- 22:00 – Morocco vs Haiti (Atlanta)
- 01:00 (Thu) – Czechia vs Mexico (Mexico City)
- 01:00 (Thu) – South Africa vs South Korea (Guadalupe)
Thursday, June 25
- 20:00 – Ecuador vs Germany (New Jersey)
- 20:00 – Curacao vs Ivory Coast (Philadelphia)
- 23:00 – Japan vs Sweden (Dallas)
- 23:00 – Tunisia vs Netherlands (Kansas City)
- 02:00 (Fri) – Turkiye vs USA (Los Angeles)
- 02:00 (Fri) – Paraguay vs Australia (San Francisco)
Friday, June 26
- 19:00 – Norway vs France (Boston)
- 19:00 – Senegal vs Iraq (Toronto)
- 00:00 (Sat) – Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia (Houston)
- 00:00 (Sat) – Uruguay vs Spain (Zapopan)
- 03:00 (Sat) – Egypt vs Iran (Seattle)
- 03:00 (Sat) – New Zealand vs Belgium (Vancouver)
Saturday, June 27
- 21:00 – Panama vs England (New Jersey)
- 21:00 – Croatia vs Ghana (Philadelphia)
- 23:30 – Colombia vs Portugal (Miami)
- 23:30 – DRC vs Uzbekistan (Atlanta)
- 02:00 (Sun) – Algeria vs Austria (Kansas City)
- 02:00 (Sun) – Jordan vs Argentina (Dallas)
Knockout Stage
Round of 32
- June 28: 1 Match (19:00 GMT – Los Angeles)
- June 29: 3 Matches (19:00, 20:30, 01:00 GMT)
- June 30: 3 Matches (17:00, 21:00, 01:00 GMT)
- July 1: 3 Matches (16:00, 20:00, 20:00 GMT)
- July 2: 3 Matches (19:00, 23:00, 03:00 GMT)
- July 3: 3 Matches (18:00, 22:00, 01:30 GMT)
Round of 16
- July 4: 2 Matches (17:00, 21:00 GMT)
- July 5: 2 Matches (20:00, 00:00 GMT)
- July 6: 2 Matches (19:00, 00:00 GMT)
- July 7: 2 Matches (16:00, 20:00 GMT)
Quarterfinals
- July 9: QF 1 (20:00 GMT – Boston)
- July 10: QF 2 (19:00 GMT – Los Angeles)
- July 11: QF 3 (20:00 GMT – Miami) & QF 4 (01:00 GMT – Kansas City)
Semifinals
- July 14: SF 1 (19:00 GMT – Dallas)
- July 15: SF 2 (19:00 GMT – Atlanta)
Bronze Medal Match
- July 18: 21:00 GMT (Miami)
World Cup Final
- July 19: 19:00 GMT (New York / New Jersey)
