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2026 World Cup schedule & format

The 2026 FIFA World Cup runs from 11 June to 19 July 2026, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico across 16 host cities. It is the first 48-team World Cup, with 104 matches in total.

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Tournament format

48 teams are split into 12 groups of four (A–L). Each team plays three group games. The top two from every group plus the eight best third-placed teams — 32 teams — reach the knockout Round of 32, followed by the Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.

Key dates

Group stage11 – 27 June 2026
Round of 3228 June – 3 July 2026
Round of 164 – 7 July 2026
Quarter-finals9 – 11 July 2026
Semi-finals14 – 15 July 2026
Final19 July 2026

Host cities

16 host cities stage the tournament: across the USA (Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle), Mexico (Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey) and Canada (Toronto, Vancouver). The final is in New York/New Jersey.

Exact match fixtures and kick-off times are finalised after the draw — predict every round now and your bracket updates as results come in.

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