FIFA World Cup 2026 explained: Format, host cities and key dates
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the biggest football tournament in history, featuring more teams, matches, and three host nations for the first time ever, writes Sports News Blitz’s Darshan Kaur Gill.
The 23rd edition of the tournament will be held from June 11 to July 19 - jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Format
This year’s competition will introduce the biggest format change in the tournament’s history, with the tournament being expanded from 32 teams to 48, allowing more countries from each continent to participate.
Instead of eight groups of four teams each, the competition now consists of 12 groups of four teams with each team playing three matches in their respective groups.
The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-placed teams across the tournament will advance to the knockout Round of 32.
With 32 teams advancing, the knockout stage now includes: a Round of 32; a Round of 16; quarter-finals; semi-finals; and the final, meaning there will be one extra knockout round compared to previous competitions.
Host Cities
There will be a total of 104 matches hosted across 16 cities in North America with the majority of matches set to take place in the US, while Canada and Mexico will host other key games.
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Host cities in the United States:
New York City
Los Angeles
Dallas
Miami
Atlanta
Houston
Seattle
Boston
Philadelphia
Kansas City
San Francisco
Host cities in Canada:
Toronto
Vancouver
Host cities in Mexico:
Mexico City
Guadalajara
Monterrey
Key dates
An opening ceremony will take place in each of the three nations with J Balvin and Tyla performing at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City ahead of the tournament’s opening match between Mexico and South Africa on June 11.
The next day, Michael Buble and Alanis Morissette will headline the opening ceremony at BMO Field in Toronto when Canada takes on Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the US, Perry and Future will perform before the USA takes on Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on June 12.
The group fixtures will run from June 11 (20:00 BST) to June 28, with the Round of 32 starting on June 28 (20:00 BST) and ending on July 4.
The Round of 16 will start at 18:00 BST on July 4, with the round lasting until July 7.
The quarter-finals will take place over four days, with one match being played each day starting July 9; the semi-finals will then be played on July 14 and 15, with the third place play-off being played on July 18.
The final will take place at the MetLife Stadium on July 19, wrapping up the tournament after five weeks.
The tournament is expected to be the largest World Cup ever by both attendance and scale, and also is expected to expand the reach of football across North America.
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