When is the World Cup? Start date, schedule for 2026. Edition of the Football Tournament

FIFA -in World Cup 2026 will be the first edition of the tournament with 48 teams and to take place in three countries.

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

Argentina will hope to defend the title they won in Qatar in 2022, beating France on the penalties in the finals in the game with Kylian Mbappe Hat-Trick for Les Bleus and two goals of Lionel Messi for champions.

101greatgoals.com There are details about when and where the World Cup 2026 will begin, as well as key details about the schedule at the beginning of the European qualifying.

🎌 Japan move toward their eighth -row #Fifaworldcup!!#Weare26 pic.twitter.com/8WWSKPYBGZ

– FIFA World Cup (@fifaWorldcup) 20. March 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 begun since it is inaugurally held in 1930.

The introductory match will be held on Thursday, June 11, with the group stage move until June 27. The 32th Circle will begin on July 29 and 3, after being between July 4 and July 7 in the last 16 games.

The quarterfinals will be held between July 9 and July 11, the AO final will be decided by the semi -finals on July 14 and 15. Play-offs played will be held on July 18th.

For the badge ❤️🛡️#Fifaworldcup pic.twitter.com/z5uvyngd89

– FIFA World Cup (@fifaWorldcup) March 15, 2025

When is the World Cup final?

The finals will be held on Sunday, July 19th. Azteca Mexico City will organize an introductory match.

Where is the World Cup 2026?

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

Mexican headquarters will be in Monterrey, Guadalajari and Mexico City, and Canadian places are Vancouver and Toronto.

The oldest man who raised #Fifaworldcup 🏆

Legendary Dino Zoff. 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/ger0dubslx

– FIFA World Cup (@fifaWorldcup) 28 February 2025

World Cup 2026 format

The initial phase increased from 16 groups of three teams to 12 groups of four countries, increasing the number of games for countries that go up to seven to eight games.

The best two teams from each group and eight best teams will arrive in Round 32 in third place.