Mexico had the honor of hosting the opening match of the World Cup during a 2-0 win over South Africa at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The co-hosts will also face Korea and Czechia in Group A.
Canada is in Group B and opened against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto. Its final two group stage games will be against Qatar and Switzerland.
The United States, having automatically qualified as one of the tournament hosts was already slotted into Group D. It will begin its tournament June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California against Paraguay. The Americans will then play Australia before finishing the group stage against Türkiye.
Qualified Teams for the 2026 World Cup
The tournament features 48 nations drawn from six confederations:
- AFC: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Iraq
- CAF: Algeria, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, DR Congo
- CONCACAF: United States, Canada, Mexico, Curaçao, Haiti, Panama
- CONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
- OFC: New Zealand
- UEFA: England, France, Croatia, Norway, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Türkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia
Group Stage Format and Advancement Rules
The 48 teams were drawn in 12 four-team groups. Each team will play three games within its group to determine the countries that will advance to the knockout round stage.
There will be 32 teams advancing to the knockout round following the group stage. The top two teams from each group will move on along with the eight best third-place teams. Tiebreakers will consist of goal differential, goals scored, head-to-head play, fair play record, and then drawing of lots.
For this World Cup, FIFA has made tweaks. In the pursuit of competitive balance, two pathways have been created to the semifinals that will prevent the two highest-ranking teams from meeting before the final should they win their respective groups. As an example, Spain is the highest-ranked team in the tournament, with defending champion Argentina ranked second. Those two nations were drawn into opposite pathways. It is the same for France (No. 3) and England (No. 4), so the top four teams, should they win their groups, will not meet until the semifinals.
As with all World Cups, teams from the same confederation were unable to be drawn into the same group, except for those from Europe.
Group A
- South Africa
- Korea Republic
- Thursday, June 11: Mexico 2, South Africa 0
- Thursday, June 11: Korea Republic 2, Czechia 1
- Thursday, June 18, 12 p.m. (Fox): Czechia vs. South Africa, Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
- Thursday, June 18, 9 p.m. (Fox): Mexico vs. Korea Republic, Estadio Akron (Guadalajara, Mexico)
- Wednesday, June 24, 9 p.m. (Fox): Czechia vs. Mexico, Estadio Azteca (Mexico City)
- Wednesday, June 24, 9 p.m. (FS1): South Africa vs. Korea Republic, Estadio BBVA (Monterrey, Mexico)
Group B
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Friday, June 12: Canada 1, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1
- Saturday, June 13, 3 p.m. (Fox): Switzerland 1, Qatar 1
- Thursday, June 18, 3 p.m. (Fox): Switzerland vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina, SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California)
- Thursday, June 18, 6 p.m. (FS1): Canada vs. Qatar, BC Place (Vancouver)
- Wednesday, June 24, 3 p.m. (Fox): Switzerland vs. Canada, BC Place (Vancouver)
- Wednesday, June 24, 3 p.m. (FS1): Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar, Lumen Field (Seattle)
