2026 FIFA World Cup Group Stage: Teams, Schedule, Venue & Format

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the biggest tournament in soccer history. We’re talking about 48 teams competing across three countries for the ultimate prize in football.

This guide covers everything you need to know about the group stage including the format, qualified teams, host cities and what comes next.

How Does the Group Stage Work (Format)

The 2026 World Cup brings a brand new format that changes everything we knew before. The tournament expands from 32 teams to 48 teams for the first time ever.

Here’s the breakdown: FIFA divides all 48 teams into 12 groups. Each group contains 4 teams. Every team plays three matches against the other teams in their group. The entire tournament features 104 matches compared to just 64 in previous World Cups.

The advancement rules work like this. The top two teams from each group move forward automatically. That gives us 24 teams right there. But here’s the interesting part: the eight best third-place teams also advance to the knockout rounds. This means 32 teams total will continue playing after the group stage ends.

The tournament adds a new Round of 32 that never existed before. Teams need to win this round before reaching the traditional Round of 16.

FIFA uses specific tiebreakers to separate teams with equal points. Goal difference comes first. Then total goals scored. After that, head-to-head results between tied teams. The fair play score (team conduct record) comes next. FIFA world ranking follows that. The final option is drawing lots if teams remain tied.

The 2026 format includes one more cool feature. The top four ranked teams in the world get placed into separate pathways through the bracket. Spain, Argentina, France, and England cannot meet each other until the semifinals. This ensures the best teams stay separated until the final stages.

Qualified Teams for 2026 World Cup Group Stage

Right now 42 teams have secured their spots for the 2026 World Cup. Six more teams will qualify through playoff matches in March 2026.

FIFA divides teams into four pots based on world rankings. Pot 1 holds the three host nations plus the nine highest-ranked teams. The United States, Mexico, and Canada get automatic spots as hosts. Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany join them in Pot 1.

Pot 2 contains the next 12 best teams including Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, and Japan. Pot 3 features teams like Norway, Panama, Egypt, Scotland, and Qatar. Pot 4 will include the lowest-ranked qualifiers plus six playoff winners who aren’t known yet.

Europe sends 16 teams to the tournament. Africa gets 9 spots. Asia claims 8 positions. South America brings 6 teams. North America sends 6 teams including the three hosts. Oceania gets 1 guaranteed spot for the first time in World Cup history.

Four nations will make their World Cup debuts in 2026. Uzbekistan, Jordan, Cape Verde, and Curaçao all qualified for the first time. Curaçao makes history as the smallest nation ever to reach the World Cup with only 185,494 people.

The official draw happens on December 5, 2025 in Washington D.C. Every team will learn their group opponents on that day. Each group gets exactly one team from each pot. FIFA limits European teams to a maximum of two per group since 16 European nations qualified.

2026 FIFA World Cup Group Stage Schedule

The group stage runs from June 11 through June 27, 2026. That’s 17 straight days of World Cup soccer across three nations.

Mexico hosts the very first match on June 11, 2026 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The United States opens play on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Canada also begins on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto.

FIFA pre-assigned the three host nations to specific groups. Mexico plays in Group A. Canada competes in Group B. The United States gets Group D. Each host nation plays all three group matches on home soil.

The complete schedule with all venues and kickoff times gets released on December 6, 2025. That’s one day after the draw. FIFA will optimize game times for four different time zones from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast.

Date	Group	Team	Match	Time (EST)	Location
Thu, Jun. 11	A	Mexico vs. TBD	1	TBD	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Thu, Jun. 11	A	TBD vs. TBD	2	TBD	Estadio Akron, Zapopan
Fri, Jun. 12	B	Canada vs. TBD	3	TBD	BMO Field, Toronto
Fri, Jun. 12	D	USA vs. TBD	4	TBD	SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
Sat, Jun. 13	B	TBD vs. TBD	5	TBD	Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara
Sat, Jun. 13	D	TBD vs. TBD	6	TBD	BC Place, Vancouver
Sat, Jun. 13	C	TBD vs. TBD	7	TBD	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
Sat, Jun. 13	C	TBD vs. TBD	8	TBD	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
Sun, Jun. 14	E	TBD vs. TBD	9	TBD	Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Sun, Jun. 14	E	TBD vs. TBD	10	TBD	NRG Stadium, Houston
Sun, Jun. 14	F	TBD vs. TBD	11	TBD	AT&T Stadium, Arlington
Sun, Jun. 14	F	TBD vs. TBD	12	TBD	Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe
Mon, Jun. 15	G	TBD vs. TBD	13	TBD	SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
Mon, Jun. 15	G	TBD vs. TBD	14	TBD	Lumen Field, Seattle
Mon, Jun. 15	H	TBD vs. TBD	15	TBD	Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
Mon, Jun. 15	H	TBD vs. TBD	16	TBD	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Tue, Jun. 16	I	TBD vs. TBD	17	TBD	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
Tue, Jun. 16	I	TBD vs. TBD	18	TBD	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
Tue, Jun. 16	J	TBD vs. TBD	19	TBD	Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Tue, Jun. 16	J	TBD vs. TBD	20	TBD	Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara
Wed, Jun. 17	K	TBD vs. TBD	21	TBD	NRG Stadium, Houston
Wed, Jun. 17	K	TBD vs. TBD	22	TBD	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Wed, Jun. 17	L	TBD vs. TBD	23	TBD	BMO Field, Toronto
Wed, Jun. 17	L	TBD vs. TBD	24	TBD	AT&T Stadium, Arlington
Thu, Jun. 18	A	TBD vs. TBD	25	TBD	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Thu, Jun. 18	A	Mexico vs. TBD	26	TBD	Estadio Akron, Zapopan
Thu, Jun. 18	B	TBD vs. TBD	27	TBD	SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
Thu, Jun. 18	B	Canada vs. TBD	28	TBD	BC Place, Vancouver
Fri, Jun. 19	C	TBD vs. TBD	29	TBD	Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Fri, Jun. 19	C	TBD vs. TBD	30	TBD	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
Fri, Jun. 19	D	TBD vs. TBD	31	TBD	Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara
Fri, Jun. 19	D	USA vs. TBD	32	TBD	Lumen Field, Seattle
Sat, Jun. 20	E	TBD vs. TBD	33	TBD	BMO Field, Toronto
Sat, Jun. 20	E	TBD vs. TBD	34	TBD	Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Sat, Jun. 20	F	TBD vs. TBD	35	TBD	NRG Stadium, Houston
Sat, Jun. 20	F	TBD vs. TBD	36	TBD	Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe
Sun, Jun. 21	G	TBD vs. TBD	37	TBD	SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
Sun, Jun. 21	G	TBD vs. TBD	38	TBD	BC Place, Vancouver
Sun, Jun. 21	H	TBD vs. TBD	39	TBD	Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
Sun, Jun. 21	H	TBD vs. TBD	40	TBD	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Mon, Jun. 22	I	TBD vs. TBD	41	TBD	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
Mon, Jun. 22	I	TBD vs. TBD	42	TBD	Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Mon, Jun. 22	J	TBD vs. TBD	43	TBD	AT&T Stadium, Arlington
Mon, Jun. 22	J	TBD vs. TBD	44	TBD	Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara
Tue, Jun. 23	K	TBD vs. TBD	45	TBD	NRG Stadium, Houston
Tue, Jun. 23	K	TBD vs. TBD	46	TBD	Estadio Akron, Zapopan
Tue, Jun. 23	L	TBD vs. TBD	47	TBD	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
Tue, Jun. 23	L	TBD vs. TBD	48	TBD	BMO Field, Toronto
Wed, Jun. 24	A	TBD vs. Mexico	49	TBD	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Wed, Jun. 24	A	TBD vs. TBD	50	TBD	Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe
Wed, Jun. 24	B	TBD vs. Canada	51	TBD	BC Place, Vancouver
Wed, Jun. 24	B	TBD vs. TBD	52	TBD	Lumen Field, Seattle
Wed, Jun. 24	C	TBD vs. TBD	53	TBD	Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
Wed, Jun. 24	C	TBD vs. TBD	54	TBD	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Thu, Jun. 25	D	TBD vs. USA	55	TBD	SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
Thu, Jun. 25	D	TBD vs. TBD	56	TBD	Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara
Thu, Jun. 25	E	TBD vs. TBD	57	TBD	Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Thu, Jun. 25	E	TBD vs. TBD	58	TBD	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
Thu, Jun. 25	F	TBD vs. TBD	59	TBD	AT&T Stadium, Arlington
Thu, Jun. 25	F	TBD vs. TBD	60	TBD	Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Fri, Jun. 26	G	TBD vs. TBD	61	TBD	Lumen Field, Seattle
Fri, Jun. 26	G	TBD vs. TBD	62	TBD	BC Place, Vancouver
Fri, Jun. 26	H	TBD vs. TBD	63	TBD	NRG Stadium, Houston
Fri, Jun. 26	H	TBD vs. TBD	64	TBD	Estadio Akron, Zapopan
Fri, Jun. 26	I	TBD vs. TBD	65	TBD	Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
Fri, Jun. 26	I	TBD vs. TBD	66	TBD	BMO Field, Toronto
Sat, Jun. 27	J	TBD vs. TBD	67	TBD	Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
Sat, Jun. 27	J	TBD vs. TBD	68	TBD	AT&T Stadium, Arlington
Sat, Jun. 27	K	TBD vs. TBD	69	TBD	Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
Sat, Jun. 27	K	TBD vs. TBD	70	TBD	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Sat, Jun. 27	L	TBD vs. TBD	71	TBD	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
Sat, Jun. 27	L	TBD vs. TBD	72	TBD	Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia

Group Stage Host Cities & Stadiums

Sixteen cities across three countries will host World Cup matches. This marks the first time three nations share hosting duties for a World Cup.

United States

The US hosts 78 matches across 11 cities. MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey hosts the final on July 19, 2026. The venue holds 82,500 fans. AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas gets the most matches with nine games scheduled. The massive Dallas venue fits up to 94,000 people.

Los Angeles brings SoFi Stadium with 70,000 seats. Atlanta offers Mercedes-Benz Stadium at 75,000 capacity. Houston provides NRG Stadium holding 72,000 fans. Kansas City features Arrowhead Stadium with 73,000 seats. Seattle uses Lumen Field. San Francisco Bay Area presents Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Philadelphia, Boston, and Miami round out the American host cities.

Mexico

Mexico hosts 13 matches across 3 cities. Estadio Azteca in Mexico City becomes the only stadium to host three World Cups after 1970 and 1986. The legendary venue seats 83,000 and gets the tournament opener. Guadalajara brings Estadio Akron with 48,000 capacity. Monterrey offers Estadio BBVA holding 53,500 fans.

Canada

Canada hosts World Cup matches for the first time with 13 games across 2 cities. Toronto provides BMO Field with 45,736 seats. Vancouver presents BC Place holding 54,000 fans. Both stadiums received major upgrades to meet FIFA standards.

How to Get Group Stage Match Tickets

FIFA sells all official tickets through their website at FIFA.com. The ticketing process opens in different phases as the tournament approaches.

Tickets are available now for most American and Canadian venues. Mexican venue tickets should open for sale soon. Prices vary based on the match importance, venue location, and seat quality. Group stage tickets cost less than knockout round matches.

Create an account on FIFA’s official website. Sign up for ticket alerts to receive notifications about new sales windows. Popular matches involving host nations or top teams sell out fast.

What Happens after the Group Stage?

The knockout stage begins once the group stage ends on June 27. Thirty-two teams advance including all 12 group winners, all 12 runners-up, and the 8 best third-place teams.

The format includes a new Round of 32 that didn’t exist before. Winners move to the Round of 16, then quarterfinals, then semifinals, and finally the championship match. The final takes place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

All matches from the quarterfinals forward happen in the United States only. Teams reaching the final will play eight total matches instead of seven like previous tournaments.

WC 2026 Group Stage Match FAQs