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The 23rd edition of football’s most prestigious tournament kicks off in just a few months' time and excitement is building ahead of the newly-expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Argentina are the current holders after they won a third world title at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, but they are set to face stern competition from a host of nations from across the globe to retain their crown.
Here, Sports Mole provides the lowdown on when and where the 2026 World Cup will take place, how the new tournament is structured and which teams have qualified.
When and where is the 2026 World Cup taking place?
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The latest instalment of the FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
As many as three nations will be hosting the tournament for the first time, while the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan was the last time that the tournament was hosted by more than one nation.
The World Cup returns to the USA and Mexico for the first time since 1994 and 1986 respectively, while Canada will be hosting the tournament for the very first time.
The 2026 edition will begin in Mexico with the opening group-stage fixture to be played on June 11, while the final will be held at the New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19.
2026 World Cup host cities and stadiums
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United States:
AT&T Stadium (Dallas Stadium) | 80,000 | Arlington, Texas
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta Stadium) | 71,000 | Atlanta, Georgia
MetLife Stadium (New York New Jersey Stadium) | 82,500 | East Rutherford, New Jersey
Gillette Stadium (Boston Stadium) | 65,878 | Foxborough, Massachusetts
NRG Stadium (Houston Stadium) | 72,220 | Houston, Texas
SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles Stadium) | 70,240 | Inglewood, California
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City Stadium) | 76,416 | Kansas City, Missouri
Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Stadium) | 64,767 | Miami Gardens, Florida
Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia Stadium) | 69,796 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lumen Field (Seattle Stadium) | 69,000 | Seattle, Washington
Levi's Stadium (San Francisco Bay Area Stadium) | 68,500 | Santa Clara, California
Canada:
BC Place (BC Place Vancouver) | 54,500 | Vancouver
BMO Field (Toronto Stadium) | 28,180 | Toronto
Mexico:
Estadio Banorte (Estadio Ciudad de Mexico) | 87,523 | Mexico City
Estadio BBVA (Estadio Monterrey) | 53.500 | Monterrey
Estadio Akron (Estadio Guadalajara) | 49,850 | Guadalajara
Tournament structure
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The 2026 World Cup will be the biggest ever and features a brand-new format involving a total of 48 nations, 16 more than previous editions.
The previous format of 32 nations split into eight groups has now been replaced by one featuring 12 groups of four, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the knockout rounds.
The eight best third-placed nations will also advance to form the round of 32, where a classic knockout format will take place leading up to the final.
The newly-expanded World Cup means there will be a whopping 104 matches for football fans to feast their eyes on next summer, 40 more than in Qatar.
Nations who reach the semi-finals at the 2026 tournament will go on to play a maximum of eight matches - the two semi-final winners will battle it out in the final, while the losers will compete in a third-placed playoff a day earlier.
Nations who have qualified for the 2026 World Cup
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As previously mentioned, there will be an unprecedented 48 teams present at the 2026 World Cup, making it comfortably the biggest edition of the tournament ever.
UEFA provide the bulk of those, with a whopping 17 teams qualifying from Europe, including four former winners in England, France, Germany and Spain.
Italy are perhaps the most notable absentee from this year's tournament, though, having incredibly failed to qualify for a third World Cup in succession.
South America are the only other continent to have produced a World Cup-winning nation, and all three of the CONMEBOL teams to have lifted the trophy aloft in the past have made it to this summer's edition, including defending champions Argentina and record five-time winners Brazil.
Read Sports Mole's in-depth article on all of the World Cup 2026 qualifiers here.
With the tournament taking place in three different countries, CONCACAF were already guaranteed a trio of participants before qualifying had even begun, and co-hosts Canada, Mexico and USA have been joined by Haiti, Panama and debutants Curacao.
There will be 10 teams from Africa taking part, including Senegal and Morocco, who both continue to claim continental supremacy following the farcical and astonishing events of the AFCON final, but Nigeria and Cameroon are conspicuous by their absences.
Cape Verde are the only debutants from CAF, while the other two first-timers come from Asia in the form of Jordan and Uzbekistan.
Amid the ongoing war in the Middle East, the prospect of some highly politically-charged matches are likely, with Iran, Iraq, Qatar and Saudi Arabia among those set to travel to the United States.
New Zealand are the only representatives from OFC, although Oceania as a continent also provide AFC members Australia.
World Cup 2026 fixture list
Below you will find the full fixture list for the 2026 World Cup, which you can filter by round, group, city and team to pick out exactly which games you want to see.
2026 FIFA World Cup — Full Fixture List
USA, Canada & Mexico • 11 June – 19 July 2026
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