When and where is the 2026 World Cup?
- The 2026 World Cup takes place across three different countries
- Tournament has been expanded and will last over a month
- 104 matches are set to be played in total
Major international tournaments offer modern football in its purest form, with the FIFA World Cup the pinnacle of the beautiful game.
After a slightly bizarre winter World Cup in 2022, football's grandest tournament will return to its orthodox summer slot in 2026. As if that wasn't enough in itself to get supporters salivating, it will also be the largest iteration in the competition's long history.
Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates ran out victors in a thrilling final last time out, but there will be an even greater number of nations competing for the trophy this time around.
Here is everything you need to know about the 2026 World Cup.
When and where is the 2026 World Cup?
The 2026 World Cup will take place across three separate countries: United States, Canada and Mexico. The competition will kick off on 11 June 2026 and run until 19 July, with the majority of the matches taking place in the US.
The North American bid beat the Morocco effort during voting in 2018, with the United States, Canada and Mexico all guaranteed places at the tournament as hosts. They are the only three teams to have qualified so far.
Canada have never hosted a World Cup before, but their co-hosts have. Mexico have held the competition twice, first in 1970 and then less than two decades later in 1986. The latter was the tournament in which Diego Maradona's famous 'Hand of God' goal helped Argentina to the title. The United States hosted the World Cup in 1994 but only reached the last 16 at that tournament.
2026 World Cup host cities and stadiums
A whopping 16 different stadiums will host at least one match at the 2026 World Cup. Most of them are in the United States, who boast 11 of the venues. Mexico have three, including the largest capacity arena in the Estadio Azteca, and Canada have just two.
The Azteca will host the opening match but the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in New York will put on the final. However, they are far from the only stunning stadiums hosting matches, with only two venues having a capacity of 50,000 or fewer.
List of stadiums used for 2026 World Cup
Stadium | City | Country | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
MetLife Stadium | New York City | United States | 82,500 |
AT&T Stadium | Dallas | United States | 80,000 |
Arrowhead Stadium | Kansas City | United States | 76,416 |
NRG Stadium | Houston | United States | 72,220 |
Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta | United States | 71,000 |
SoFi Stadium | Los Angeles | United States | 70,240 |
Lincoln Financial Field | Philadelphia | United States | 69,796 |
Lumen Field | Seattle | United States | 69,000 |
Levi's Stadium | San Francisco | United States | 68,500 |
Gillette Stadium | Boston | United States | 65,878 |
Hard Rock Stadium | Miami | United States | 64,767 |
Estadio Azteca | Mexico City | Mexico | 87,523 |
Estadio BBVA | Monterrey | Mexico | 53,500 |
Estadio Akron | Guadalajara | Mexico | 49,850 |
BC Place | Vancouver | Canada | 54,500 |
BMO Field | Toronto | Canada | 30,000 |
2026 World Cup format
For the first time in World Cup history, there will be 48 teams competing in 2026. That's 16 more sides than the number that competed at the 2022 World Cup. They will be made up of nations from all six confederations, with an eye-watering 104 matches being played.
The 12 groups will still be made up of four teams with each side playing three matches. The top two will qualify automatically, with the eight best performing third-placed sides also reaching the knockout rounds.
The round of 32 comes immediately after the group stage, with subsequent knockout rounds played until the final. There will also still be a third-placed play-off.
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