The 2026 World Cup will be the first to be held in the United States since 1994, and will be unlike any other World Cup ever. Here's what you need to know as the tournament begins this week.
[Venue and schedule]
The tournament begins on Thursday with Mexico playing South Africa. The match will take place at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The first game in the United States will be the following Friday, when the United States will face Paraguay at the Sofi Stadium in Ingleud. The group stage will run until June 27th, with one day off on July 8th, and games will continue from the quarterfinals onwards. The final will be held on Sunday, July 19th at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Kickoff times will be between noon and midnight Eastern Time, with four games per day scheduled from June 13th to June 23rd, and six games per day from June 24th to June 27th for the final group games.
[Tournament format]
This year's tournament will be the largest World Cup in history, with 48 teams participating. A total of 104 games will be played, an increase of 50% from the number of teams participating in the 2022 tournament. The 48 teams will be divided into groups of four teams, as usual, and a total of 72 games will be played in the group stage. After the round-robin group stage, the top two teams from each group, plus eight third-place teams with the best results, will advance to the knockout stage for a total of 64 teams.
[New rules]
Several rule changes have been made to this World Cup to make the matches run more smoothly. Each game will include one three-minute break in the first half and one in the second half for players to rehydrate.
In the event of a dead ball (such as a goal kick or throw-in), a player has five seconds to resume possession, and a substitute player must leave the pitch within 10 seconds. In addition, injured players must leave the pitch for one minute to receive treatment, but this restriction does not apply if the injury occurs during a play that resulted in a card.
Only the captain can protest to the referee; if another player protests, they may be shown a yellow card. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) will also be able to review decisions on second yellow cards and corner kicks.
[How to watch]
In the United States, all games will be broadcast on FOX (70 games) and FS1 (34 games), with streaming available on Fox One. Viewers who prefer to watch the broadcast in Spanish will be able to watch 92 games on Telemundo and 12 games (the final group game) on Universo.
[Teams to watch]
The favorites to win are mainly teams that have won in the past, with France (+450) and Spain having the highest odds, followed by England (+650), Argentina (+800) and Brazil (+800).
[American expectations]
The USA will face England, Mexico and Fiji in Group D. The United States is currently 16th in the FIFA rankings, with odds of winning 40 times higher than the 11th. It is considered almost certain that they will make it through the group stage, and there will be no problem in making it through in second place.
[Notable players]
This World Cup will feature many superstars from the past, present, and future. Of particular note are Argentina's Lionel Messi, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Croatia's Luka Modric, all of whom are close to 40 years old and likely to make their final World Cup appearances.
Other young and mid-career players such as France's Kylian Mbappé, Brazil's Vinicius Junior and England's Harry Kane are expected to represent their countries.