2026 FIFA World Cup Groups

The FIFA World Cup is the premier professional football competition for men's national teams worldwide, governed by FIFA. The tournament takes place every four years and, starting in 2026, features an expanded format with 48 teams competing for the title.

The reigning champion is Argentina, and the team that holds the most titles is Brazil (5 titles).

The 2026 tournament features a record 48 national teams and an unprecedented schedule of 104 matches in total.

• The initial stage is composed of 12 groups of four teams. Every team plays three matches within its group.
• The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, advance to a new Round of 32.
• From there, the competition follows a traditional single-elimination knockout bracket, meaning the two teams that reach the final will have played a total of eight matches.

The World Cup 2026 will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The tournament begins on Thursday, June 11, 2026, with the opening match held at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The final match is scheduled for Sunday, July 19, 2026, at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Matches will be played across 16 stadiums in 16 cities:

• Two in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver)
• Three in Mexico (Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey)
• Eleven in the United States (Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York / New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle)

The United States will host all games from the Quarter-Finals onwards.

As of late October 2025, 28 teams have already secured their places, including the three host qualifiers (Canada, Mexico, United States).

The team with the most titles in the FIFA World Cup is Brazil, with 5 championships. The first FIFA World Cup, held in 1930, was won by the host nation, Uruguay. The current titleholder is Argentina, who won the 2022 tournament. The average number of goals per match in the FIFA World Cup 2022 was 2.69.