World Cup 2026 format explained
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the first with 48 teams. It runs from 11 June to 19 July 2026 across 16 host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and for the first time features 104 matches.
How many teams and matches are there?
48 teams play 104 matches over 39 days — up from 32 teams and 64 matches at Qatar 2022. The expansion adds a brand-new knockout round (the Round of 32) before the familiar last 16.
How does the group stage work?
The 48 teams are split into 12 groups of four (Groups A to L). Each team plays the other three in its group once, so every team is guaranteed three matches. You can follow the live group tables on the World Cup 2026 hub.
The top two teams from each group advance automatically — that's 24 teams — plus the eight best third-placed teams across all groups, making 32 for the knockout stage. See how teams qualify and the tiebreakers for the full detail.
What happens in the knockout stage?
The 32 qualifiers enter a single-elimination bracket: Round of 32 → Round of 16 → quarter-finals → semi-finals → final, plus a third-place play-off. The final is on 19 July 2026 at MetLife Stadium near New York. Read the knockout bracket explainer for how extra time and penalties decide tied matches.
Where is the 2026 World Cup held?
It's the first World Cup hosted by three countries, across 16 cities — 11 in the USA and three in Mexico and two in Canada. The opening match is in Mexico City and the final is in the USA.
The World Cup 2026, live right now
This section updates automatically from LiveGoal's live data — see the full World Cup 2026 table, fixtures and results.
Next fixtures
- South Korea vs Czechia — 12 Jun, 02:00 UTC
- Canada vs Bosnia-Herzegovina — 12 Jun, 19:00 UTC
- United States vs Paraguay — 13 Jun, 01:00 UTC
- Qatar vs Switzerland — 13 Jun, 19:00 UTC
- Brazil vs Morocco — 13 Jun, 22:00 UTC
- Haiti vs Scotland — 14 Jun, 01:00 UTC
Group leaders
| Group | Leader | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| Group A | Mexico | 3 |
| Group B | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 0 |
| Group C | Brazil | 0 |
| Group D | Australia | 0 |
| Group E | Curaçao | 0 |
| Group F | Japan | 0 |
| Group G | Egypt | 0 |
| Group H | Cape Verde Islands | 0 |
| Group I | France | 0 |
| Group J | Algeria | 0 |
| Group K | Congo DR | 0 |
| Group L | England | 0 |
Standings updated 21:22, 11 Jun 2026 UTC.
Follow every fixture and result as it happens on LiveGoal's live scores, or browse the full fixtures by date.