The 2026 World Cup will take place from June 12th to 20th in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, featuring 48 participating teams. This marks the first time the tournament has expanded in scale, bringing the total number of matches to 104.
The first match of the 2026 World Cup will take place at 2:00 AM on June 12th at the Azteca Stadium (Mexico City, Mexico) between Mexico and South Africa. The final will be held at MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA).
The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams. (Photo: FIFA)
World Cup 2026 Group Stage Schedule
June 12th
2 PM: Mexico vs South Africa.
9 AM: South Korea vs Czech Republic.
June 13th
2am: Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina.
8 AM: USA vs Paraguay.
June 14th
2 PM: Qatar vs Switzerland.
5 PM: Brazil vs Morocco.
8:00 AM: Haiti vs Scotland.
11:00 AM: Australia vs Türkiye.
June 15th
0h: Germany vs Curacao.
3 PM: Netherlands vs Japan.
6:00 AM: Ivory Coast vs Ecuador.
9 AM: Sweden vs Tunisia.
11 PM: Spain vs Cape Verde.
June 16th
2 PM: Belgium vs Egypt.
5 PM: Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay.
8:00 AM: Iran vs New Zealand.
June 17th
2 PM: France vs Senegal.
5 PM: Iraq vs Norway.
8:00 AM: Argentina vs Algeria.
11:00 AM: Austria vs Jordan.
June 18th
0h: Portugal vs Democratic Republic of Congo.
3 PM: England vs Croatia.
6:00 AM: Ghana vs Panama.
9:00 AM: Uzbekistan vs Colombia.
11 PM: Czech Republic vs South Africa.
June 19th
2 PM: Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina.
5 PM: Canada vs Qatar.
8 AM: Mexico vs South Korea.
June 20th
2 PM: USA vs Australia.
5 PM: Scotland vs Morocco.
7:30 AM: Brazil vs Haiti.
10:00 AM: Türkiye vs Paraguay.
June 21st
0h: Netherlands vs Sweden.
3 PM: Germany vs Ivory Coast.
7:00 AM: Ecuador vs Curacao.
11:00 AM: Tunisia vs Japan.
11 PM: Spain vs Saudi Arabia.
June 22nd
2 PM: Belgium vs Iran.
5:00 AM: Uruguay vs Cape Verde.
8:00 AM: New Zealand vs Egypt.
June 23rd
0h: Argentina vs Austria.
4 PM: France vs Iraq.
7:00 AM: Norway vs Senegal.
10:00 AM: Jordan vs Algeria.
June 24th
0h: Portugal vs Uzbekistan.
3 PM: England vs Ghana.
6:00 AM: Panama vs Croatia.
9:00 AM: Colombia vs Democratic Republic of Congo.
June 25th
2am: Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Qatar.
2 PM: Switzerland vs Canada.
5 PM: Morocco vs Haiti.
5 PM: Scotland vs Brazil.
8:00 AM: Czech Republic vs Mexico.
8:00 AM: South Africa vs South Korea.
June 26th
3 PM: Curacao vs Ivory Coast.
3 PM: Ecuador vs Germany.
6:00 AM: Japan vs Sweden.
6:00 AM: Tunisia vs Netherlands.
9 AM: Paraguay vs Australia.
9 AM: Türkiye vs USA.
June 27th
2 PM: Norway vs France.
2 PM: Senegal vs Iraq.
7:00 AM: Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia.
7:00 AM: Uruguay vs Spain.
10:00 AM: Egypt vs Iran.
10:00 AM: New Zealand vs Belgium.
June 28th
4 PM: Croatia vs Ghana.
4 PM: Panama vs England.
6:30 AM: Colombia vs Portugal.
6:30: Democratic Republic of Congo vs Uzbekistan.
9 AM: Algeria vs Austria.
9 AM: Jordan vs Argentina.
At the end of the group stage, 32 teams qualified for the knockout round, while 16 teams were eliminated. The group winners, runners-up, and the eight best third-placed teams will compete from the Round of 16 onwards, following a bracket based on the 2026 World Cup rankings.
Round of 16, World Cup 2026
June 29th
2 PM: Match 73 - Second in Group A vs Second in Group B.
June 30th
0h: Match 74 - Winner of Group C vs Runner-up of Group F.
3:30 PM: Match 75 - Winner of Group E vs. Third Place in Groups A/B/C/D/F.
8:00 AM: Match 76 - Winner of Group F vs Runner-up of Group C.
July 1st
0h: Match 77 - Second in Group E vs Second in Group I.
2 PM: Match 78 - Winner of Group I vs. Third Place in Groups C/D/F/G/H.
8:00 AM: Match 79 - Winner of Group A vs. Third Place in Groups C/E/F/H/I.
23:00: Match 80 - Winner of Group L vs. Third Place in Groups E/H/I/J/K.
July 2nd
3 PM: Match 81 - Winner of Group G vs. Third Place in Groups A/E/H/I/J.
7:00 AM: Match 82 - Winner of Group D vs. Third Place in Groups B/E/F/I/J.
July 3rd
2 PM: Match 83 - Winner of Group H vs Runner-up of Group J.
6:00 AM: Match 84 - Second in Group K vs Second in Group L.
10:00 AM: Match 85 - Winner of Group B vs. Third Place in Groups E/F/G/I/J.
July 4th
1h: Match 86 - Second in Group D vs Second in Group G.
5 PM: Match 87 - Winner of Group J vs Runner-up of Group H.
9:30 AM: Match 88 - Winner of Group K vs. 3rd place in Groups D/E/I/J/L.
Round of 16
July 5th
0h: Winner of match 73 vs Winner of match 75.
4 PM: Win 74 vs Win 77.
July 6th
3 PM: Win 76 vs Win 78.
7:00 AM: Win 79 vs Win 80.
July 7th
2 PM: Win 83 vs Win 84.
7:00 AM: Win 81 vs Win 82.
11 PM: Win 86 vs Win 88.
July 8th
3 PM: Win 85 vs Win 87.
World Cup 2026 Quarter-final Schedule
July 10th
3 PM: Quarter-final match 1.
July 11th
2 PM: Quarter-final match 2.
July 12th
4 PM: Quarter-final match 3.
July 12th
8:00 AM: Quarter-final match 4.
2026 World Cup Semi-finals
July 15th
2 PM: Semi-final 1 - Winner of Quarter 1 vs Winner of Quarter 2.
July 16th
2 PM: Semi-final 2 - Winner of Quarter 3 vs Winner of Quarter 4.
Third place match
July 19th - 4 PM: Lost Semi-Final 1 vs Lost Semi-Final 2.
World Cup 2026 Final Schedule
July 20th - 2 PM: Winner of Semi-Final 1 vs Winner of Semi-Final 2.
When and where will the 2026 World Cup take place?
The 2026 World Cup will be the 23rd edition of the world's biggest football tournament. Taking place from June 12th to July 20th, the tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. A total of 104 matches will be held in 16 stadiums across the three countries, marking the return of the world's biggest football event to North America after 32 years.
The 2026 World Cup matches will be held in 16 cities across three North American countries.
American stadiums include MetLife (New Jersey), AT&T (Dallas), Arrowhead (Kansas), NRG (Houston), Mercedes-Benz (Atlanta), SoFi (Los Angeles), Lincoln Financial (Philadelphia), Lumen (Seattle), Levi's (San Francisco), Gillette (Boston), and Hard Rock (Miami).
In Canada, two stadiums were used: BC Place (Vancouver) and BMO Field (Toronto). Mexico used three stadiums: Azteca (Mexico City), BBVA (Monterrey), and Akron (Guadalajara).
The format of the 2026 World Cup
This is the largest World Cup ever, with 48 teams participating, divided into 12 groups. In the group stage, teams play a round-robin format, with points awarded for group standings. The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, qualify for the Round of 16.
If two or more teams are tied on points after the group stage, the organizers will prioritize the head-to-head record between these teams, including: points earned, goal difference, and the number of goals scored in direct confrontations. If these factors are still equal, the organizers will consider the goal difference and the total number of goals scored across all three group stage matches.
When all other tie-breaking criteria are irrelevant, the teams are ranked according to their position on the latest FIFA World Rankings.
Knockout matches and finals have extra time and penalty shootouts if the score is tied after the two regular halves (golden goal and silver goal rules do not apply).
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/lich-thi-dau-world-cup-2026-moi-nhat-ar1017621.html
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