Date and venue for 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage draw locked in

Next summer’s FIFA World Cup will be a historic tournament for several reasons with the 2026 edition set to be the first time, the competition will be co-hosted by three nations: Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

The tournament is set to run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The opening match will be held in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, and the final will take place at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey and will be the first World Cup to feature 48 national teams, an increase from the previous 32. This expansion means more matches – a total of 104 games will be played, up from 64 in 2022.

Venues and qualified teams

A total of 16 cities across the three host nations will stage matches:

Canada: Toronto, Vancouver

Mexico: Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey

United States: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle

To date, 13 nations have qualified for the competition:

As of late July 2025, the following nations have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with co-hosts, Canada, Mexico and the USMNT set to be joined by Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and New Zealand.

Qualifiers for the remaining places will resume in September with TUDN Mexico also claiming that the group stage draw for the 2026 World Cup set to take place on Friday, December 5 in Las Vegas with the event earmarked for the 17,000 capacity Sphere.

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