{"id":12554,"date":"2026-06-20T12:54:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T16:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.roadtowc.com\/?page_id=12554"},"modified":"2026-06-20T12:54:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T16:54:41","slug":"world-cup-2026-schedule","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.roadtowc.com\/world-cup-2026-schedule\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup 2026 Schedule: Dates, Format & Match Calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The FIFA World Cup 2026<\/strong> runs from Thursday, June 11<\/strong> to Sunday, July 19, 2026<\/strong>, across the United States, Mexico and Canada. It is the first 48-team World Cup and the first hosted by three nations, with 104 matches<\/strong> played in 16 host cities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Key dates at a glance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Stage<\/th>\nDates<\/th>\nNotes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Opening match<\/td>\nJune 11, 2026<\/td>\nEstadio Azteca, Mexico City<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Group stage<\/td>\nJune 11 \u2013 27, 2026<\/td>\n12 groups of 4 teams<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Round of 32<\/td>\nJune 28 \u2013 July 3, 2026<\/td>\nNew knockout round for 2026<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Round of 16<\/td>\nJuly 4 \u2013 7, 2026<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Quarter-finals<\/td>\nJuly 9 \u2013 11, 2026<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Semi-finals<\/td>\nJuly 14 \u2013 15, 2026<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Third-place play-off<\/td>\nJuly 18, 2026<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Final<\/td>\nJuly 19, 2026<\/td>\nMetLife Stadium, New York\/New Jersey<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

How the 2026 format works<\/h2>\n

For the first time, the tournament features 48 teams split into 12 groups of four<\/strong>. The top two teams in each group<\/strong>, plus the eight best third-placed teams<\/strong>, advance to a new Round of 32<\/strong>. From there the competition becomes a straight knockout: Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final.<\/p>\n

This expanded format means more games (104 in total, up from 64) and a longer group stage, but it also means a single poor result is no longer automatically fatal \u2014 third place can still be enough to progress.<\/p>\n

The big fixtures<\/h2>\n