World Cup 2026 guide: Everything you need to know including confirmed groups, tournament structure, host cities

The 23rd edition of football’s most prestigious tournament has concluded, as Spain sunk former champions Argentina 1-0 in the July 19 final.

La Albiceleste were the previous World Cup holders after they lifted a third world title at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, and they overcame stern competition from some of the world's elite to make the last two.

England made their case to be considered as serious contenders after eliminating Brazil's conquerors Norway in the quarter-finals, having previously ended Mexico's 26-match unbeaten run at the Estadio Azteca in the last 16, but Argentina proved a step above in the semis.

France were hitherto as many fans' favourites for the crown, having comfortably dispatched 2022 semi-final foes Morocco in the quarters, continuing their streak of not conceding a single knockout goal.

However, Didier Deschamps's defence was found out in the semi-finals, as Spain unexpectedly nullified their French foes to make the East Rutherford final, before Les Bleus' chaotic 6-4 loss to England in the third-place playoff.

Here, Sports Mole provides the lowdown on when and where the 2026 World Cup took, how the new tournament was structured and which teams qualified.

When and where did the 2026 World Cup take place?

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The latest instalment of the World Cup was co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

As many as three nations hosted 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 returned to the USA and Mexico for the first time since 1994 and 1986 respectively, while Canada hosted the tournament for the very first time.

The 2026 edition began in Mexico City when Mexico beat South Africa in the opening group-stage fixture on June 11, while the final was held at the New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19.

Four years from now, the Mundial will also be hosted across three countries in Morocco, Spain and Portugal, with centenary matches in Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina to mark the 100th anniversary of the World Cup.

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 was the biggest ever and featured 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 was 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 also advanced to form the round of 32, where a classic knockout format took place leading up to the final.

The newly-expanded World Cup means there were a whopping 104 games for football fans to feast their eyes on this summer, 40 more than in Qatar.

Nations who reached the semi-finals at the 2026 tournament went on to play a maximum of eight matches, as Spain and Argentina scrapped it out in the final while France and England clashed in the third-place playoff.

Nations who qualified for the 2026 World Cup

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As previously mentioned, there were an unprecedented 48 teams present at the 2026 World Cup, making it comfortably the biggest edition of the tournament ever.

UEFA provided the bulk of those, with a whopping 17 teams qualifying from Europe, including four former winners in England, France, Germany and Spain.

Four-time world champions Italy were 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 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 were joined by Haiti, Panama and debutants Curacao.

There were initially 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 were the only debutants from CAF, while the other two first-timers came 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 were likely, but Iran, Iraq, Qatar and Saudi Arabia all went out in the group stage.

New Zealand were the only representatives from OFC, although Oceania as a continent also provided AFC members Australia.

World Cup 2026 groups

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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.