Arguably the greatest sporting competition on the planet, the World Cup will return for its 23rd edition in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026.
Argentina will be looking to make a successful defence of the crown they claimed in such dramatic fashion in 2022, but will be wary of a plethora of other nations boasting title-winning credentials, including England.
Here's everything you need to know about the 2026 World Cup.
What is the FIFA World Cup?
The FIFA World Cup is the premier competition in international football which has taken place every four years (with the exception of a 12-year hiatus either side of World War Two) ever since the inaugural event in Uruguay in 1930.
It was the brainchild of former FIFA President Jules Rimet, who wanted to stage a separate tournament which would build on the success of Olympic football tournaments.
Dates
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place between Monday 8th June and Sunday 19th July 2026.
Number of Teams
The first edition in Uruguay featured 13 teams but the number of participants increased to 16 in 1954 and 24 in 1982 before settling on the most recent number, 32, in 1998.
Further expansion means the upcoming 2026 edition (to be staged across USA, Mexico and Canada) will feature a total of 48 teams.
Groups
Group A
- Mexico
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Czech Republic
Group B
- Canada
- Qatar
- Switzerland
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
Group C
- Brazil
- Morocco
- Haiti
- Scotland
Group D
- USA
- Paraguay
- Australia
- Turkey
Group E
- Germany
- Curacao
- Ivory Coast
- Ecuador
Group F
- Netherlands
- Japan
- Tunisia
- Sweden
Group G
- Belgium
- Egypt
- Iran
- New Zealand
Group H
- Spain
- Cape Verde
- Saudi Arabia
- Uruguay
Group I
- France
- Senegal
- Norway
- Iraq
Group J
- Argentina
- Algeria
- Austria
- Jordan
Group K
- Portugal
- Uzbekistan
- Colombia
- Congo DR
Group L
- England
- Croatia
- Ghana
- Panama
World Cup Favourites
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Format
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature 48 participating teams, an increase from the previous 32-team format.
Teams have been divided into 12 groups of four with each team playing three fixtures throughout the group stage - this means there will be a total of 72 group-stage fixtures as opposed to the 48 that have taken place across previous editions.
After the group stage, the second round commences, which carries a straight knockout format.
The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-place teams, will advance to a newly expanded Round of 32, with the 16 victors advancing to the next round.
- Round of 32
- Round of 16
- Quarter-Finals
- Semi-Finals
- Third-place match
- Final
FIFA World Cup format explained
Venues
The United States will host the bulk of the World Cup fixtures, including every match from the quarter-finals onwards, across 11 different cities.
These cities are: Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Boston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Miami.
Mexico will host 10 matches across three different cities (Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City), while Canada will also host 10 matches in two different cities (Vanouver and Toronto).
Full list of World Cup 2026 venues:
- Atlanta - Mercedes-Benz Stadium (74,295 capacity)
- Boston - Gillette Stadium (65,878 capacity)
- Dallas - AT&T Stadium (80,000 capacity)
- Houston - NRG Stadium (72,220 capacity)
- Kansas City - Arrowhead Stadium (76,416 capacity)
- Los Angeles - SoFi Stadium (70,000 capacity)
- Miami - Hard Rock Stadium (65,326 capacity)
- New York/New Jersey - MetLife Stadium (82,500 capacity)
- Philadelphia - Lincoln Financial Field (67,594 capacity)
- San Francisco Bay Area - Levi's Stadium (68,500 capacity)
- Seattle - Lumen Field (72,000 capacity)
- Guadalajara - Estadio Akron (46, 355 capacity)
- Mexico City - Estadio Azteca (87,523 capacity)
- Monterrey - Estadio BBVA (51,000 capacity)
- Toronto - BMO Field (30,000 capacity)
- Vancouver - BC Place (54,500 capacity)
Records
There are a number of famous World Cup records that have stood the test of time.
Brazilian legend Pele remains the only player to have won the tournament on three occasions as a player.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's Norman Whiteside is the youngest player to feature at a World Cup.
Full World Cup records list
History
Eight teams have won the World Cup and six of them have been multiple winners (the exceptions being England and Spain, who lifted the trophy in 1966 and 2010).
Every previous winner has been either European (12 victories) or South American (10 victories).
Argentina won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, overcoming France on penalties following a 3-3 draw after extra time in one of the competition's greatest ever finals.
It represented Argentina's third World Cup title after successes in 1978 and 1986, with captain Lionel Messi cementing his legacy as one of the best players of all time as he lifted the trophy.
Brazil have not won the World Cup since 2002 but they are the most successful team in the competition's history with five victories, all of them achieved on foreign soil.
The Samba Stars golden era was between 1958 and 1970 when, with the considerable help of Pele, they won three of four World Cups.
German teams meanwhile, have appeared in the most finals (eight). West Germany contested six finals, winning three of them, while Germany have appeared in two – finishing runner up to Brazil in 2002, and defeating Argentina in 2014.
Best teams to have never won the FIFA World Cup
Some great teams have failed to get their hands on the trophy but the hardest luck stories could be shared by Hungary and the Netherlands.
Hungary had a great team in the early 1950s, famously defeating England 6-3 at Wembley in November 1953, and were widely considered to be the outstanding team at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland but they fell short – losing 3-2 to West Germany in the final.
A Hungarian team featuring outstanding players Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis and Nandor Hidegkuti were two goals up after eight minutes but their opponents came roaring back to record a surprise success.
Another top class team to be edged aside by West Germany were the Dutch team of 1974, featuring legendary attacker Johan Cruyff.
The Dutch took the lead in the final, only to succumb to a 2-1 defeat, and they fell just short of redemption four years later – reaching the 1978 final and losing out 3-1 after extra-time to host nation Argentina.
Iconic Players
Pele would be the choice of many people as the greatest footballer of all-time and his impact on World Cups has been undeniable.
The former Santos superstar was part of three World Cup winning squads, scoring 12 goals, and would probably have netted a lot more had he not been injured in the second game of the 1962 tournament in Chile.
In the two finals he did participate in (1958 and 1970) he scored three goals, and he laid on the assist for Carlos Alberto's famous strike in the 4-1 demolition of Italy in the 1970 final which is widely regarded as one of the greatest goals in the tournament's history.
A rival to Pele's status as one of the greatest World Cup players is Maradona, who dragged Argentina across the line at Mexico 1986.
Maradona scored five goals in the 1986 tournament, including the infamous 'hand of god' goal in the 2-1 quarter-final success against England and an outstanding individual goal in the same contest.
