The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) World Cup is the largest sporting event in the world and is hosted every four years in a different country.
This year, the host countries are split between Canada, The United States of America (U.S.), and Mexico. The host cities include:
- Toronto, Canada
- Vancouver, Canada
- Guadalajara, Mexico
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Monterrey, Mexico
- Atlanta, U.S.
- Boston, U.S.
- Dallas, U.S.
- Houston, U.S.
- Kansas City, U.S.
- Los Angeles, U.S.
- Miami, U.S.
- New York, New Jersey, U.S.
- Philadelphia, U.S.
- Seattle, U.S.
- San Francisco Bay Area, U.S.
Kansas City is one of the host cities. There will be six matches played in total at Arrowhead Stadium, including one quarterfinal. Many high-level teams, such as Argentina and the Netherlands, will be playing a game there. Since these will be over the summer, Kansas City is going to be busy with soccer fans flooding the city to watch these games.
Each country also has its own mascot for the games. Canada’s mascot is Maple the Moose, Mexico will proudly be displaying Zayu the Jaguar, and the United States is sporting Clutch the Bald Eagle.
In the 2026 tournament, 48 national teams that have already qualified will be competing to win the FIFA World Cup Trophy. Additionally, the winning team will receive 50 million dollars, which is more than the 42 million dollars that was awarded to Argentina for winning the Qatar games in 2022.
Starting on June 11, these 48 teams will play 104 soccer matches against each other in a tournament. The final match will be on July 19. The opening match will be Mexico against South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The concluding match that will determine the winner will take place at the MetLife Stadium located just outside of New York City.
The 48 teams have been divided into 12 groups of four. Each team will play three games in a round-robin format, where each team plays against each other once within their group. The top two teams, along with eight third-place teams with the most points across the 12 groups, will advance to the “Round of 32,” where the remaining 32 teams move on. In the Round of 32, teams will play each other in single-elimination games, where the loser of each game is eliminated from the tournament. The schedule for each team can be found at this link.
ESPN projected that the top 10 teams most likely to win the 2026 World Cup- from tenth place to first- are: Belgium, Norway, Germany, Argentina, Netherlands Portugal, Brazil, England, Spain, and France. The U.S. is ranked 22nd.
This World Cup is expected to be a significant tournament, as many experienced veterans on many teams are reportedly retiring after the games conclude.
Among this list is Lionel Messi (Argentina), who has indicated that the World Cup will be his last event on the world stage, Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Nicolas Otamendi (Argentina), and Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico). With so many strong players retiring, the stakes are sure to be high.
The World Cup will be streaming on FIFA+, FOX One, and additional services for the entirety of the games. The FIFA Women’s World Cup will take place in 2027 in Brazil.
