World Cup 2026: Full Schedule, All 12 Groups and How to Follow Every Match

## The first 48-team World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the 23rd edition of the tournament and the first to feature **48 teams**, expanded from 32. The teams are divided into **12 groups of four** (Groups A to L). It is also the first World Cup co-hosted by three nations — the **United States, Canada and Mexico**. The tournament runs from **11 June 2026** to the final on **19 July 2026** at **MetLife Stadium** in New Jersey. The opening match pits **Mexico against South Africa** on 11 June 2026. ## How the format works Each team plays the other three in its group once. The **top two from every group** advance to the knockout stage, joined by the **eight best third-placed teams** — giving a 32-team Round of 32 for the first time. From there it is straight knockout: Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. ## The 12 groups - **Group A:** Czechia, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea - **Group B:** Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Qatar, Switzerland - **Group C:** Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland - **Group D:** Turkey, United States, Paraguay, Australia - **Group E:** Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador - **Group F:** Sweden, Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia - **Group G:** Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand - **Group H:** Spain, Cape Verde Islands, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay - **Group I:** Iraq, France, Senegal, Norway - **Group J:** Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan - **Group K:** Congo DR, Portugal, Uzbekistan, Colombia - **Group L:** England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama ## Follow every match on Planete Football Our [World Cup 2026 hub](/competitions/world-cup-2026) carries the full day-by-day schedule, every group with team pages, and the knockout bracket. For match-by-match analysis built on our Dixon–Coles Poisson model, see the [World Cup predictions page](/predictions/world-cup). Whether you are following the **host nations** — [United States](/competitions/world-cup-2026/teams/united-states), [Canada](/competitions/world-cup-2026/teams/canada) and [Mexico](/competitions/world-cup-2026/teams/mexico) — or one of the favourites such as [Brazil](/competitions/world-cup-2026/teams/brazil), [France](/competitions/world-cup-2026/teams/france), [England](/competitions/world-cup-2026/teams/england), [Spain](/competitions/world-cup-2026/teams/spain) or [Argentina](/competitions/world-cup-2026/teams/argentina), you can track their group, fixtures and results on their dedicated pages.