Schedule and Host Venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup already promises to become the most ambitious tournament in the history of football. For the first time ever, the competition will be hosted by three countries — Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It will also feature a record-breaking 48 national teams and an unprecedented 104 matches.

The updated match schedule, presented in Washington during a special event featuring legends Ronaldo, Francesco Totti, Hristo Stoichkov, and Alexi Lalas, finally revealed all key details: fans now know exactly when and where their global football marathon begins.

Below is a comprehensive overview of the tournament and the full group-stage match schedule.

Tournament Format and Geography of the 2026 World Cup

The 2026 World Cup introduces a drastically new structure:

• 48 teams instead of the traditional 32

• 12 groups of 4 teams: Groups A through L

• 16 host cities, stretching from Vancouver to Miami and from Mexico City to New York/New Jersey

• For the first time, the knockout phase will include a Round of 32, featuring all group winners, runners-up, and the best third-placed teams

The tournament is geographically divided into three main clusters:

Western Region

Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles

Central Region

Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, Atlanta

Eastern Region

Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, New York/New Jersey

This structure will allow millions of fans to attend matches in person and will minimize travel load for the participating teams.

Host Nations and Opening Matches

Mexico: A Historic Opening

The official opening match will be hosted by Mexico.
11 June 2026 — Mexico vs South Africa
Mexico City Stadium (Mexico City)

This matchup also echoes the symbolic connection with South Africa 2010, where both teams met in the opening match. A further storyline is the coaching duel between Javier Aguirre and Hugo Broos, whose paths crossed as far back as the 1986 World Cup.

Canada: Football Festival in Toronto

12 June 2026 — Canada vs UEFA Playoff Winner (Italy/Northern Ireland/Wales/Bosnia & Herzegovina)
Toronto Stadium

This match marks a major milestone for Canadian football as the team seeks to cement its growing presence on the world stage.

USA: A Powerful Start in Los Angeles

12 June 2026 — USA vs Paraguay
Los Angeles Stadium

The United States will play its first-ever match in a home World Cup of the new format, promising massive attendance and unmatched media attention.

A Milestone Match: Tunisia vs Japan

One highlight in the schedule is the match:
20 June 2026 — Tunisia vs Japan
Monterrey Stadium

This game will become the 1000th match in FIFA World Cup history, and it also revisits the iconic clash from the 2002 World Cup, where Japan reached the knockout stage for the first time.

Full Group-Stage Match Schedule — 2026 FIFA World Cup

Below is the complete schedule of group-stage matches, listed by date with opponents, group designation, and stadium/city.
Exact kickoff times will be announced later by FIFA according to local time zones.

Thursday, 11 June 2026

• Mexico vs South Africa — Group A, Mexico City Stadium

• Republic of Korea vs Playoff Winner D (Czech Republic/Denmark/North Macedonia/Ireland) — Group A, Estadio Guadalajara

Friday, 12 June 2026

• Canada vs Playoff Winner A (Bosnia & Herzegovina/Italy/Northern Ireland/Wales) — Group B, Toronto Stadium

• USA vs Paraguay — Group D, Los Angeles Stadium

Saturday, 13 June 2026

• Haiti vs Scotland — Group C, Boston Stadium

• Australia vs Playoff Winner C (Kosovo/Romania/Slovakia/Turkey) — Group D, BC Place, Vancouver

• Brazil vs Morocco — Group C, New York/New Jersey Stadium

• Qatar vs Switzerland — Group B, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Sunday, 14 June 2026

• Ivory Coast vs Ecuador — Group E, Philadelphia Stadium

• Germany vs Curaçao — Group E, Houston Stadium

• Netherlands vs Japan — Group F, Dallas Stadium

• Playoff Winner B (Albania/Poland/Sweden/Ukraine) vs Tunisia — Group F, Estadio Monterrey

Monday, 15 June 2026

• Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay — Group H, Miami Stadium

• Spain vs Cape Verde — Group H, Atlanta Stadium

• Iran vs New Zealand — Group G, Los Angeles Stadium

• Belgium vs Egypt — Group G, Seattle Stadium

Tuesday, 16 June 2026

• France vs Senegal — Group I, New York/New Jersey Stadium

• Playoff Winner 2 (Bolivia/Iraq/Suriname) vs Norway — Group I, Boston Stadium

• Argentina vs Algeria — Group J, Kansas City Stadium

• Austria vs Jordan — Group J, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Wednesday, 17 June 2026

• Ghana vs Panama — Group L, Toronto Stadium

• England vs Croatia — Group L, Dallas Stadium

• Portugal vs Playoff Winner 1 (DR Congo/Jamaica/New Caledonia) — Group K, Houston Stadium

• Uzbekistan vs Colombia — Group K, Mexico City Stadium

Thursday, 18 June 2026

• Playoff Winner D vs South Africa — Group A, Atlanta Stadium

• Switzerland vs Playoff Winner A — Group B, Los Angeles Stadium

• Canada vs Qatar — Group B, BC Place, Vancouver

• Mexico vs Republic of Korea — Group A, Estadio Guadalajara

Friday, 19 June 2026

• Brazil vs Haiti — Group C, Philadelphia Stadium

• Scotland vs Morocco — Group C, Boston Stadium

• Playoff Winner C vs Paraguay — Group D, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

• USA vs Australia — Group D, Seattle Stadium

Saturday, 20 June 2026

• Germany vs Ivory Coast — Group E, Toronto Stadium

• Ecuador vs Curaçao — Group E, Kansas City Stadium

• Netherlands vs Playoff Winner B — Group F, Houston Stadium

• Tunisia vs Japan — Group F, Estadio Monterrey (1000th World Cup match)

Sunday, 21 June 2026

• Uruguay vs Cape Verde — Group H, Miami Stadium

• Spain vs Saudi Arabia — Group H, Atlanta Stadium

• Belgium vs Iran — Group G, Los Angeles Stadium

• New Zealand vs Egypt — Group G, BC Place, Vancouver

Monday, 22 June 2026

• Norway vs Senegal — Group I, New York/New Jersey Stadium

• France vs Playoff Winner 2 — Group I, Philadelphia Stadium

• Argentina vs Austria — Group J, Dallas Stadium

• Jordan vs Algeria — Group J, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Tuesday, 23 June 2026

• England vs Ghana — Group L, Boston Stadium

• Panama vs Croatia — Group L, Toronto Stadium

• Portugal vs Uzbekistan — Group K, Houston Stadium

• Colombia vs Playoff Winner 1 — Group K, Estadio Guadalajara

Wednesday, 24 June 2026

• Scotland vs Brazil — Group C, Miami Stadium

• Morocco vs Haiti — Group C, Atlanta Stadium

• Switzerland vs Canada — Group B, BC Place, Vancouver

• Playoff Winner A vs Qatar — Group B, Seattle Stadium

• Playoff Winner D vs Mexico — Group A, Mexico City Stadium

• South Africa vs Republic of Korea — Group A, Estadio Monterrey

Thursday, 25 June 2026

• Curaçao vs Ivory Coast — Group E, Philadelphia Stadium

• Ecuador vs Germany — Group E, New York/New Jersey Stadium

• Japan vs Playoff Winner B — Group F, Dallas Stadium

• Tunisia vs Netherlands — Group F, Kansas City Stadium

• Playoff Winner C vs USA — Group D, Los Angeles Stadium

• Paraguay vs Australia — Group D, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Friday, 26 June 2026

• Norway vs France — Group I, Boston Stadium

• Senegal vs Playoff Winner 2 — Group I, Toronto Stadium

• Egypt vs Iran — Group G, Seattle Stadium

• New Zealand vs Belgium — Group G, BC Place, Vancouver

• Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia — Group H, Houston Stadium

• Uruguay vs Spain — Group H, Estadio Guadalajara

Saturday, 27 June 2026

• Panama vs England — Group L, New York/New Jersey Stadium

• Croatia vs Ghana — Group L, Philadelphia Stadium

• Algeria vs Austria — Group J, Kansas City Stadium

• Jordan vs Argentina — Group J, Dallas Stadium

• Colombia vs Portugal — Group K, Miami Stadium

• Playoff Winner 1 vs Uzbekistan — Group K, Atlanta Stadium

Play Off schedule: