FIFA recently announced the logistics for the 2026 World Cup, including the allocation of games across the three host countries – Canada, the U.S. and Mexico – and the important dates of the tournament.
The soccer spectacle begins on June 11th, 2026, at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City as Mexico will face a yet-to-be-determined opponent, which will be the only match on day one of the tournament.
Day two, June 12th, 2026, will feature the opening matches for both the United States and Canada.
United States’ first group stage game will be held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California while Canada opens their schedule at BMO Field in Toronto – which will be renamed to Toronto Stadium during the tournament due to FIFA sponsorship rules.
The Americans will then fly north to Lumen Field in Seattle for their second game on June 19th followed by a return to the Los Angeles outskirt on June 25th to round out their group stage schedule.
For Canada, they will also take a trip to the Pacific Northwest as their final two group games will be held at BC Place, the home of the Vancouver Whitecaps of Major League Soccer, on June 18th and 24th.
If the Canadians qualify for the knockout stage, their round of 32 and round of 16 game will also be in Vancouver, on July 2nd and 7th, respectively.
Subsequently, the other games in Canada include three additional group stage games in Vancouver on June 13th, 21st and 26th, and four additional group stage matches in Toronto on June 17th, 20th, 23rd and 26th along with a round of 32 game on July 2nd.
Following the round of 32 and round of 16, the United States will host all matches from the quarterfinals onwards, with quarterfinal matches occurring between July 9th and 11th, in Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Kansas City.
Then, Dallas will host the first semifinal on July 14th while Atlanta will host the second semifinal on July 15th. The third-place match will be in Miami on July 18th before MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey hosts the World Cup Final on July 19th.
In total, the 48-team tournament – the largest in World Cup history – will feature 104 matches: 13 in Canada, 13 in Mexico and 78 scattered across the U.S.
The top two teams from each group along with the eight best third-place teams will qualify for the knockout rounds as the groups will be determined during the draw in December 2025 once teams are qualified.
The qualifying window has already begun in the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa) and CONMEBOL (South America) regions with the OFC (Oceania) and CONCACAF (North America) starting qualifying later this year and UEFA (Europe) beginning their process in March of 2025.
As hosts, Canada, the United States and Mexico have already qualified.
For more information on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, head to fifa.com.
