When and where will the 2026 World Cup take place?

The 2026 World Cup will take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 12 to July 20 (Vietnam time) with 48 participating teams.

VTC News•27/05/2026

The World Cup is the most prestigious men's football tournament on the planet, held every four years with the participation of the world's top national teams. According to the schedule, most matches at the 2026 World Cup will take place in the early morning and morning hours in Vietnam time.

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.

VTC News online newspaper provides the complete and latest World Cup 2026 schedule in Vietnam time.

The 2026 World Cup will take place from June 12 to July 20, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. (Source: Reuters)

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).

Of these, the AT&T Stadium in Dallas (USA) has the largest capacity (approximately 94,000 spectators).

The opening ceremony of the 2026 World Cup is scheduled to take place on June 12th (Vietnam time) at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico. The first match of the 2026 World Cup will be a clash between Mexico and South Africa, also held at this stadium. The Estadio Azteca in Mexico will become the first stadium to host three different World Cups in 1970, 1986, and 2026. It has witnessed many classic matches, including the 1986 World Cup final where legend Diego Maradona shone to lead Argentina to victory.

The group stage lasted until June 28th, before the tournament took its first break on July 9th to prepare for the quarterfinals. The final was scheduled to take place on July 20th at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, USA.

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).

What's new about the 2026 World Cup?

Argentina is the champion of the 2022 World Cup. (Source: Reuters)

This World Cup also implemented a number of rule changes to help matches run more smoothly. Each match will have a mandatory three-minute water break between halves. This rule helps players recover in hot weather conditions and also creates more advertising time for television broadcasters.

FIFA has also tightened the time limits for dealing with set pieces. Teams only have five seconds to get the ball back into play during throw-ins or corner kicks. Meanwhile, players only have 10 seconds to leave the field when being substituted.

In injury situations, players receiving medical attention may be forced to leave the field for up to one minute. However, if an opponent receives a yellow or red card, the injured player does not need to leave the field. Additionally, the goalkeeper and the player taking the penalty kick are exempt, meaning they are allowed to remain on the field.

Regarding the rules of conduct towards the referee, only the captain is allowed to approach to protest or question decisions. Other players who intentionally argue may be given a yellow card.

VAR technology has also been given expanded intervention powers. In addition to familiar situations, VAR can now review second yellow cards or corner kicks if there is a clear error from the on-field refereeing team.

List of World Cup 2026 group stages

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic.

Group B: Canada, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland.

Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland.

Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia, Türkiye.

Group E: Germany, Curacao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador.

Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia.

Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand.

Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay.

Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway.

Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan.

Group K: Portugal, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia.