Washington, DC — The FIFA World Cup returns to North America for the 2026 edition, sparking widespread excitement across the continent for football’s premier tournament.
Co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the landmark tournament will feature 104 matches, promising a vibrant celebration of football on an unprecedented scale.
Most games will take place in the US, with some teams based in its northern neighbour Canada and its southern neighbour Mexico. The latter will host the opening match on June 11 between host Mexico and South Africa.
Playing teams and groups
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to be the largest in history, featuring 48 teams following an expansion from the traditional 32-team format.
There are 16 teams from Europe, 10 from Africa, 9 from Asia, 6 from South America, 6 from North America and 1 from Oceania.
The teams are divided into 12 groups as follows:
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea and Czechia.
Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar and Switzerland.
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia and Türkiye.
Group E: Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast and Ecuador.
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden and Tunisia.
Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran and New Zealand.
Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.
Group I : France, Senegal, Iraq and Norway.
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria and Jordan.
Group K: Portugal, DRC, Uzbekistan and Colombia.
Group L : England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama.
The knockout stages will also be the biggest, with 32 teams advancing to the knockout phase instead of the regular 16.
Groups I and L have been labelled ‘Groups of Death’ by analysts.
New arrivals
Four teams are making their debut in this World Cup: Jordan, Cape Verde, Curacao and Uzbekistan.
