The 2026 FIFA World Cup starts June 11, and for the first time in the tournament's history, 48 teams will compete — 104 matches across 16 cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This isn't just a bigger World Cup. It's a fundamentally different one.
Mexico City's Estadio Azteca hosts the first ball kicked, with host nation Mexico taking on South Africa in Group A. Hours later, South Korea face Czechia in Zapopan. Two matches on day one, and the world is already watching.
How the group stage works
Each of the 16 groups plays three matchdays. The top two from every group advance automatically to the round of 32, joined by the eight best third-place finishers — meaning 32 teams in total reach the knockouts. From there, it's straight elimination. One bad night and you're on a plane home.
The expanded format creates a real edge for teams that historically underperform in knockout football. More games, more routes through. That makes early group-stage odds genuinely harder to price — a third-place finish can still deliver a deep run, which changes how you think about backing teams to progress.
Matches to circle early
The United States open on June 12 against Paraguay in Inglewood — a high-pressure home crowd, a tough South American opponent, and a team still searching for its World Cup identity. Brazil and Morocco meet on June 13 in New Jersey. England vs. Croatia on June 17 in Arlington is an immediate rematch of serious recent tournament history. And Argentina face Algeria on June 16 in Kansas City — a genuinely awkward test for the defending champions in the opening round.
France vs. Senegal on June 16 in East Rutherford could be the group stage's most tactically loaded fixture. Two sides with genuine knockout pedigree, meeting before either has found their footing in the tournament.
Full group stage schedule
Thursday, June 11
- Group A: Mexico vs. South Africa (Mexico City), 3 p.m. ET
- Group A: South Korea vs. Czechia (Zapopan, Mexico), 10 p.m. ET
Friday, June 12
- Group B: Canada vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (Toronto), 3 p.m. ET
- Group D: United States vs. Paraguay (Inglewood, Calif.), 9 p.m. ET
Saturday, June 13
- Group B: Qatar vs. Switzerland (Santa Clara, Calif.), 3 p.m. ET
- Group C: Brazil vs. Morocco (East Rutherford, N.J.), 6 p.m. ET
- Group C: Haiti vs. Scotland (Foxborough, Mass.), 9 p.m. ET
- Group D: Australia vs. Turkey (Vancouver, Canada), 12 a.m. ET
Sunday, June 14
- Group E: Germany vs. Curaçao (Houston), 1 p.m. ET
- Group F: Netherlands vs. Japan (Arlington, Texas), 4 p.m. ET
- Group E: Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador (Philadelphia), 7 p.m. ET
- Group F: Sweden vs. Tunisia (Guadalajara, Mexico), 10 p.m. ET
Monday, June 15
- Group H: Spain vs. Cape Verde (Atlanta), 1 p.m. ET
- Group G: Belgium vs. Egypt (Seattle), 6 p.m. ET
- Group H: Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay (Miami Gardens, Fla.), 6 p.m. ET
- Group G: Iran vs. New Zealand (Inglewood, Calif.), 12 a.m. ET
Tuesday, June 16
- Group I: France vs. Senegal (East Rutherford, N.J.), 3 p.m. ET
- Group I: Iraq vs. Norway (Foxborough, Mass.), 6 p.m. ET
- Group J: Argentina vs. Algeria (Kansas City, Mo.), 9 p.m. ET
- Group J: Austria vs. Jordan (Santa Clara, Calif.), 12 a.m. ET
Wednesday, June 17
- Group K: Portugal vs. DR Congo (Houston), 1 p.m. ET
- Group L: England vs. Croatia (Arlington, Texas), 4 p.m. ET
- Group L: Ghana vs. Panama (Toronto), 7 p.m. ET
- Group K: Uzbekistan vs. Colombia (Mexico City), 10 p.m. ET
Thursday, June 18
- Group A: Czechia vs. South Africa (Atlanta), 12 p.m. ET
- Group B: Switzerland vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (Inglewood, Calif.), 3 p.m. ET
- Group B: Canada vs. Qatar (Vancouver, Canada), 6 p.m. ET
- Group A: Mexico vs. South Korea (Zapopan, Mexico), 11 p.m. ET
Friday, June 19
- Group D: United States vs. Australia (Seattle), 3 p.m. ET
- Group C: Scotland vs. Morocco (Foxborough, Mass.), 6 p.m. ET
- Group C: Brazil vs. Haiti (Philadelphia), 9 p.m. ET
- Group D: Turkey vs. Paraguay (Santa Clara, Calif.), 12 a.m. ET
Saturday, June 20
- Group F: Netherlands vs. Sweden (Houston), 1 p.m. ET
- Group E: Germany vs. Ivory Coast (Toronto), 4 p.m. ET
- Group E: Ecuador vs. Curaçao (Kansas City, Mo.), 8 p.m. ET
- Group F: Tunisia vs. Japan (Guadalajara, Mexico), 12 a.m. ET
Sunday, June 21
- Group H: Spain vs. Saudi Arabia (Atlanta), 12 p.m. ET
- Group G: Belgium vs. Iran (Inglewood, Calif.), 3 p.m. ET
- Group H: Uruguay vs. Cape Verde (Miami Gardens, Fla.), 6 p.m. ET
- Group G: New Zealand vs. Egypt (Vancouver), 9 p.m. ET
Monday, June 22
- Group J: Argentina vs. Austria (Arlington, Texas), 1 p.m. ET
- Group I: France vs. Iraq (Philadelphia), 5 p.m. ET
- Group I: Norway vs. Senegal (East Rutherford, N.J.), 8 p.m. ET
- Group J: Jordan vs. Algeria (Santa Clara, Calif.), 11 p.m. ET
Tuesday, June 23
- Group K: Portugal vs. Uzbekistan (Houston), 1 p.m. ET
- Group L: England vs. Ghana (Foxborough, Mass.), 4 p.m. ET
- Group L: Panama vs. Croatia (Toronto), 7 p.m. ET
- Group K: Colombia vs. DR Congo (Zapopan, Mexico), 10 p.m. ET
Wednesday, June 24
- Group B: Switzerland vs. Canada (Vancouver, Canada), 3 p.m. ET
- Group B: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar (Seattle), 3 p.m. ET
- Group C: Scotland vs. Brazil (Miami Gardens, Fla.), 6 p.m. ET
- Group C: Morocco vs. Haiti (Atlanta), 6 p.m. ET
- Group A: Czechia vs. Mexico (Mexico City), 9 p.m. ET
- Group A: South Africa vs. South Korea (Guadalajara, Mexico), 9 p.m. ET
Thursday, June 25
- Group E: Ecuador vs. Germany (East Rutherford, N.J.), 4 p.m. ET
- Group E: Curaçao vs. Ivory Coast (Philadelphia), 4 p.m. ET
- Group F: Japan vs. Sweden (Arlington, Texas), 7 p.m. ET
- Group F: Tunisia vs. Netherlands (Kansas City, Mo.), 7 p.m. ET
- Group D: Turkey vs. United States (Inglewood, Calif.), 10 p.m. ET
- Group D: Paraguay vs. Australia (Santa Clara, Calif.), 10 p.m. ET
Friday, June 26
- Group I: Norway vs. France (Foxborough, Mass.), 3 p.m. ET
- Group I: Senegal vs. Iraq (Toronto), 3 p.m. ET
- Group H: Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia (Houston), 8 p.m. ET
- Group H: Uruguay vs. Spain (Zapopan, Mexico), 8 p.m. ET
- Group G: Egypt vs. Iran (Seattle), 11 p.m. ET
- Group G: New Zealand vs. Belgium (Vancouver, Canada), 11 p.m. ET
The group stage wraps June 26. Thirty-two teams move on. The other sixteen go home having been part of the first 48-team World Cup — which, depending on results, will either be remembered as football's great expansion or its most chaotic experiment yet.
