FIFA World Cup 2026™
United States • Canada • Mexico
The Biggest World Cup in History
48 Teams. 16 Host Cities. 3 Nations. One Historic Tournament.
🌍 Tournament Overview
Tournament Dates: June 11 - July 19, 2026
Historic First: The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be the first tournament to feature 48 teams, expanding from the traditional 32-team format. This is also the first World Cup to be jointly hosted by three countries.
Automatic Qualifiers: United States, Canada, and Mexico automatically qualify as host nations, making this a unique opportunity for all three CONCACAF powerhouses to compete on home soil.
🏆 Tournament Format
Group Stage Structure
- 16 Groups of 3 Teams: The 48 teams will be divided into 16 groups, with each group containing 3 teams
- Round-Robin Format: Each team plays the other two teams in their group once (2 matches per team in group stage)
- Advancement: Top 2 teams from each group (32 teams total) advance to the knockout rounds
- Group Stage Matches: 48 total matches (16 groups × 3 matches per group)
Knockout Stage
- Round of 32: 32 qualified teams compete in single-elimination matches (16 matches)
- Round of 16: 16 winners advance (8 matches)
- Quarter-finals: 8 teams compete (4 matches)
- Semi-finals: 4 teams compete (2 matches)
- Third Place Match: Semi-final losers compete for 3rd place (1 match)
- Final: Championship match (1 match)
Total Match Count: 104 Games
This expanded format provides:
- More opportunities for nations to compete on the world stage
- Increased global representation across continents
- Extended tournament excitement for fans worldwide
- Greater economic impact for host cities
🏟️ Host Cities and Venues
United States (11 Venues)
MetLife Stadium
📍 East Rutherford, New Jersey
Capacity: 82,500
Final Match Venue
AT&T Stadium
📍 Arlington, Texas
Capacity: 80,000
Most matches including semi-finals
Arrowhead Stadium
📍 Kansas City, Missouri
Capacity: 76,416
SoFi Stadium
📍 Los Angeles, California
Capacity: 70,240
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
📍 Atlanta, Georgia
Capacity: 71,000
NRG Stadium
📍 Houston, Texas
Capacity: 72,220
Lincoln Financial Field
📍 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Capacity: 69,796
Hard Rock Stadium
📍 Miami, Florida
Capacity: 64,767
Lumen Field
📍 Seattle, Washington
Capacity: 69,000
Levi's Stadium
📍 Santa Clara, California
Capacity: 68,500
Gillette Stadium
📍 Foxborough, Massachusetts
Capacity: 65,878
Canada (2 Venues)
BMO Field
📍 Toronto, Ontario
Capacity: 45,500 (expandable to 50,000)
BC Place
📍 Vancouver, British Columbia
Capacity: 54,000
Mexico (3 Venues)
Estadio Azteca
📍 Mexico City
Capacity: 87,523
Historic venue - hosted 1970 & 1986 finals
Estadio BBVA
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