World Cup 2026, groups and full program/ 48 national teams in 12 groups, the strongest challenges

World Cup

13 matches will be held in Mexico, the same number in Canada, and 78 in the United States.

The 2026 World Cup is set to make history, as for the first time in the competition's history, football's most important trophy will be contested by 48 national teams, in a tournament jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Mexico will host 13 matches, Canada will host the same number, and the United States will host 78. With the new expanded format, the football festival will offer a total of 104 matches, compared to 64 in previous editions, bringing the duration of the World Cup to 40 days.

The opening match is scheduled for June 11 at the legendary Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, while the grand final will take place on Sunday, July 19, 2026, at the New York–New Jersey Stadium in New Jersey, where the new world champion will be announced.

Jordan, Curaçao, Uzbekistan and Cape Verde will be participating in a World Cup for the first time.

Attention now turns to the World Cup schedule, with the group stage starting on June 11th and the opening match between Mexico and South Africa. The match calendar in the coming days is extremely busy, as important matches will take place in all groups, with traditional national teams and ambitious teams entering the race for qualification early.

The group stage will conclude on June 28, when the teams that will advance will be determined. The tournament then enters its most demanding phase, with the round of 32 matches taking place from June 28 to July 3.

After that, the round of 16 will take place from July 4 to 7, while the quarterfinals will be played from July 9 to 12. The two semifinals are scheduled for July 14 and 15, in matches that will determine the tournament finalists.

The tournament will conclude on July 19 with the grand final, while the third-place match will take place the day before, on July 18. After more than a month of consecutive matches, the World Cup will reach its climax, with all national teams aiming for a place in the tournament's most important challenge.

World Cup 2026: Detailed group stage schedule

June 11

22:00 Mexico – South Africa, Group A

June 12

05:00 South Korea – Czech Republic, Group A
22:00 Canada – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Group B

June 13

04:00 USA – Paraguay, Group D
07:00 Australia – Turkey, Group D
22:00 Qatar – Switzerland, Group B

June 14

01:00 Brazil – Morocco, Group C
04:00 Haiti – Scotland, Group C
20:00 Germany – Curaçao, Group E
23:00 Netherlands – Japan, Group F

June 15

02:00 Ivory Coast – Ecuador, Group E
05:00 Sweden – Tunisia, Group F
19:00 Spain – Cape Verde, Group H
22:00 Belgium – Egypt, Group G

June 16

01:00 Saudi Arabia – Uruguay, Group H
04:00 Iran – New Zealand, Group G
07:00 Austria – Jordan, Group J
22:00 France – Senegal, Group I

June 17

01:00 Iraq / Bolivia – Norway, Group I
04:00 Argentina – Algeria, Group J
20:00 Portugal – Democratic Republic of Congo, Group K
23:00 England – Croatia, Group L

June 18

02:00 Ghana – Panama, Group L
05:00 Uzbekistan – Colombia, Group K
07:00 Czech Republic – South Africa, Group A
22:00 Switzerland – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Group B

June 19

01:00 Canada – Qatar, Group B
04:00 Mexico – South Korea, Group A
07:00 Turkey – Paraguay, Group D
22:00 USA – Australia, Group D

June 20

01:00 Scotland – Morocco, Group C
04:00 Brazil – Haiti, Group C
07:00 Tunisia – Japan, Group F
20:00 Netherlands – Sweden, Group F
23:00 Germany – Ivory Coast, Group E

June 21

03:00 Ecuador – Curaçao, Group E
19:00 Spain – Saudi Arabia, Group H
22:00 Belgium – Iran, Group G

June 22

01:00 Uruguay – Cape Verde, Group H
04:00 New Zealand – Egypt, Group G
20:00 Argentina – Austria, Group J

June 23

00:00 France – Iraq / Bolivia, Group I
03:00 Norway – Senegal, Group I
06:00 Jordan – Algeria, Group J
20:00 Portugal – Uzbekistan, Group K
23:00 England – Ghana, Group L

June 24

02:00 Panama – Croatia, Group L
05:00 Colombia – Democratic Republic of Congo, Group K
22:00 Switzerland – Canada, Group B
22:00 Bosnia and Herzegovina – Qatar, Group B

June 25

01:00 Morocco – Haiti, Group C
01:00 Scotland – Brazil, Group C
04:00 South Africa – South Korea, Group A
04:00 Czech Republic – Mexico, Group A

June 26

02:00 Tunisia – Netherlands, Group F
02:00 Japan – Sweden, Group F
05:00 Turkey – USA, Group D
05:00 Paraguay – Australia, Group D
22:00 Norway – France, Group I
22:00 Senegal – Iraq / Bolivia, Group I

June 27

03:00 Cape Verde – Saudi Arabia, Group H
03:00 Uruguay – Spain, Group H
06:00 New Zealand – Belgium, Group G
06:00 Egypt – Iran, Group G

June 28

00:00 Panama – England, Group L
00:00 Croatia – Ghana, Group L
02:30 Colombia – Portugal, Group K
02:30 Democratic Republic of Congo – Uzbekistan, Group K
05:00 Algeria – Austria, Group J
05:00 Jordan – Argentina, Group J

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