When is the World Cup? Start date, schedule for 2026 edition of football tournament

The 2026 Fifa World Cup will be the first edition of the tournament to feature 48 teams and take place in three countries.

A total of 16 stadiums will host games, welcoming teams from qualifying groups covering Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania, Europe, North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Argentina will hope to defend the title they won in Qatar in 2022, beating France on penalties in the final in a game featuring a Kylian Mbappe hat-trick for Les Bleus and two Lionel Messi goals for the champions.

101GreatGoals.com has the details on when and where the 2026 World Cup will begin, as well as key details on the schedule at the start of European qualifying.

🎌 Japan are headed to their eighth consecutive #FIFAWorldCup!#WeAre26 pic.twitter.com/8wnSKpYBgZ

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 20, 2025

When is the World Cup 2026? Schedule, dates

While the Qatar edition took place in November and December, the 2026 tournament will return to the traditional period in which the World Cup has started since it was inaugurally held in 1930.

The opening match will take place on Thursday, June 11, with the group stage running until June 27. The round of 32 will start on June 29 and July 3, following by last-16 matches between July 4 and July 7.

The quarter-finals will be held between July 9 and July 11, and the final will be decided by semi-finals on July 14 and 15. A third-place play-off takes place on July 18.

For the badge ❤️🛡️#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/z5UvYngD89

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 15, 2025

When is the World Cup final?

The final will take place on Sunday, July 19. Mexico City’s Azteca will stage the opening match.

Where is the World Cup 2026?

Canada, the United States and Mexico will host the tournament, with 11 US venues: Seattle, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Boston and New York New Jersey, where the final will be played.

The Mexican headquarters will be in Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City and the Canadian venues are Vancouver and Toronto.

The oldest man to lift the #FIFAWorldCup 🏆

The legendary Dino Zoff. 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/geR0DUbslx

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 28, 2025

World Cup 2026 format

The initial stage has been enlarged from 16 groups of three teams to 12 groups of four nations, increasing the number of games for countries going all the way from seven to eight matches.

The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place teams will reach the round of 32.