Coupe du Monde de la FIFA - Unis 2026 (French) Copa Mundial de la FIFA Unidos 2026 (Spanish)
Tournament details
Host country
Canada United States Mexico
Dates
11 June - 19 July
Teams
48(from 6 confederations)
Venue(s)
16(in 16 host cities)
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the current and 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup. It is currently taking place from June 11 to July 19, 2026.[1] It is jointly hosted by sixteen cities, with eleven in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada. It is the first FIFA World Cup to be hosted by three countries, and the first to include 48 teams.
The United 2026 bid beat a rival bid by Morocco during a final vote at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow. It is the first FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by multiple countries since the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Mexico previously hosted the FIFA World Cup in 1970 and 1986, and are the first country to host the World Cup three times, while the United States previously hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Team whose qualification process has yet to be decided
Teams failed to qualify
Teams withdrew or suspended
Not a FIFA member
The United Bid expected all three host countries to get automatic World Cup spots. FIFA PresidentGianni Infantino confirmed this on August 31, 2022, with Canada, Mexico, and the United States securing spots as hosts.[4][5] The FIFA Council officially confirmed this on February 14, 2023. Before the 67th FIFA Congress, the FIFA Council met in Manama, Bahrain, and approved the slot allocation.[6][7] This includes a playoff tournament with six teams to decide the final two World Cup spots.
In the playoffs, there will be one team from each confederation except UEFA, and an extra team from the host countries' confederation, CONCACAF. Two seeded teams (based on World Rankings) will face off against the winners of two knockout games between the unseeded teams. These matches will take place in one or more of the host countries and serve as a test event for the World Cup.[8] This allocation also ensures that the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) gets a guaranteed spot in the tournament for the first time.[9] So, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first where all six confederations have at least one guaranteed spot, and all continents will have teams in the finals for the first time since 2010.[9]
The group stage draw will take place in December 2025. While no host venue has been confirmed, Las Vegas and other cities have bid to host.[10] The four winners of the UEFA play-offs and the two winners of the inter-confederation play-off tournament will not be known at the time of the draw. This is because these matches are scheduled to occur in March 2026.
For the draw, 48 teams will allocated into four pots, based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking from November/December 2025. Pot 1 will contain co-hosts Mexico, Canada and United States (who were automatically assigned to position A1, B1, and D1, respectively) and the best nine teams. Pot 2 will have the next best twelve teams, with the next best twelve teams into pot 3. Pot 4 will consist of the six lowest-ranked teams, along with the placeholders for the two inter-confederation play-off winners and four UEFA play-off winners.
Group stage
The group stage will be played from June 11 to 27.[11] The competing countries were divided into twelve groups of four teams (groups A to L), with teams in each group playing one another in a round-robin. In the group standings, three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams of each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams across all groups, will advance to the knockout stage.
Updated to match(es) played on June 21, 2026. Source: FIFA Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Team conduct score; 5) Latest FIFA ranking; 6) Previous FIFA ranking(s). Notes:
The exact match-ups including the third-placed teams depends on which eight third-placed teams qualify for the round of 32. There are 495 possible results, which were released in Annex C of the tournament's rules.[14]
80: Winner Group L vs Third-place Group E/H/I/J/K Match
81: USA vs Bosnia & Herzegovina Match
82: Belgium vs Third-place Group A/E/H/I/J Match
83: Runner-up Group K vs Runner-up Group L Match
84: Spain vs Runner-up Group J Match
85: Switzerland vs Third-place Group E/F/G/I/J Match
86: Argentina vs Cape Verde Match
87: Winner Group K vs Third-place Group D/E/I/J/L Match
88: Australia vs Egypt
Analyses/offers on removing the U.S. from World Cup
There are analyses on removing the United States from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[16][17] Meanwhile, Islamic Republic of Iran's football team have responded to Donald Trump warning them to stay away from the World Cup by calling for the USA to withdraw instead.[18]