With the 2026 FIFA World Cup drawing closer, here is the ultimate guide to the world’s biggest football tournament.
The 2026 edition marks an expansion to 48 teams as Argentina prepare to defend their title in a tournament co-hosted across three North & Central-American countries, but England, France, Spain and Brazil amongst others will seek to dismantle their crown.
Now, here is a full guide to everything that you need to know ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup from venues to date to teams and more.
When Is 2026 FIFA World Cup?
The 2022 FIFA World Cup will take place from Thursday 11 June and run for six weeks with the final scheduled for Sunday 19 July.
Where Is 2026 FIFA World Cup Being Held?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is being co-hosted across Canada, Mexico and USA with 16 stadiums in total selected to host matches, with Mexico’s Estadio Azteca playing host to the opener on 11 June.
East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium will be the host venue for the final on 19 June in New York/New Jersey.
| Country | Stadium | City | Capacity |
| Canada | BMO Field | Toronto | 54,000 |
| BC Place | Vancouver | 45,000 | |
| Mexico | Estadio Azteca | Mexico City | 93,000 |
| Estadio BBVA | Guadalupe | 53,500 | |
| Estadio Akron | Guadalajara | 52,000 | |
| USA | AT&T Stadium | Arlington | 94,000 |
| MetLife Stadium | East Rutherford | 82,500 | |
| Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta | 75,000 | |
| Arrowhead Stadium | Kanas | 73,000 | |
| NRG Stadium | Houston | 72,000 | |
| Levi’s Stadium | San Francisco | 71,000 | |
| SoFi Stadium | Inglewood | 70,000 | |
| Lincoln Financial Field | Philadelphia | 69,000 | |
| Lumen Field | Seattle | 69,000 | |
| Gillette Stadium | Foxborough | 65,000 | |
| Hard Rock Stadium | Miami | 65,000 |
How Many Teams Will Be Involved in 2026 FIFA World Cup?
48 countries will be involved in the World Cup split across 12 groups each containing four teams, with reigning champions, France headlining the qualified teams alongside title contenders; Argentina, Belgium, Brazil and England.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Mexico | Canada | Brazil | USA |
| South Africa | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Morocco | Paraguay |
| South Korea | Qatar | Haiti | Australia |
| Czech Republic | Switzerland | Scotland | Turkey |
| Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H |
| Germany | Netherlands | Belgium | Spain |
| Curacao | Japan | Egypt | Cape Verde |
| Ivory Coast | Sweden | Iran | Saudi Arabia |
| Ecuador | Tunisia | New Zealand | Uruguay |
| Group I | Group J | Group K | Group L |
| France | Argentina | Portugal | England |
| Senegal | Algeria | DR Congo | Croatia |
| Iraq | Austria | Uzbekistan | Ghana |
| Norway | Jordan | Colombia | Panama |
How Will 2026 FIFA World Cup Work?
The tournament will open with a Round-Robin Group Stage containing three rounds of fixtures per group between 11-27 June, where teams will play each other once with the top two teams in each group plus eight best third-placed finishers qualifying for the Knockout Stage, which is compromised of;
- Round of 32 (32 teams) played between 28 June – 3 July
- Round of 16 (16 teams) played between 4-7 July.
- Quarter-Finals (8 teams) played between 9-11 July
- Semi-Finals (4 teams) played between 14-15 July
- Third-Place Play-Off (2 teams) played on 18 July
- Final (2 teams) played on 19 July
How to Watch 2026 FIFA World Cup in UK
UK-based viewers can watch the tournament live across BBC and ITV with majority of matches broadcast on BBC1 and ITV1, with selected matches airing on BBC2 and ITV4 in the final stage of the group matches.
All of the respective broadcasters’ selected matches will be live on BBC iPlayer or ITVX depending on which broadcaster is broadcasting the match on terrestrial TV.
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