1st look at FIFA World Cup 2026 draw
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The World Cup begins on June 11, 2026 as co-host Mexico plays the opener in Mexico City, with the USA (Los Angeles) and Canada (Toronto) kicking off a day later. The group stage runs until June 27, with synchronized start times in each group for the final matches in the round-robin.
On Friday, FIFA held the draw for the largest World Cup ever, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11, 2026, through July 19, 2026.
The semi-finals for both the UEFA and FIFA confederation playoffs take place on Tuesday, March 26, while the finals will be played the following week on Tuesday, March 31. Once those fixtures are concluded, all qualified teams for the 2026 World Cup will be confirmed.
The group stage has been set for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Here are the odds for each team to advance to the knockout stage.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will begin on June 11 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico, with a matchup between host nation Mexico and Group A challenger South Africa. In 2010, South Africa became the first African nation to host a World Cup.
Mexico was drawn into a group with South Africa, South Korea and the UEFA Playoff D winner – Denmark, Ireland, Czech Republic or North Macedonia. El Tri will face South Africa in the tournament's opening match on June 11, 16 years after the two sides played the first game in the 2010 World Cup.
The first game of the World Cup will be co-hosts Mexico v South Africa. That was the same opening game in 2010 when South Africa were the hosts. It ended 1-1. Speaking of France playing Senegal, here's highlights of when Les Bleus were stunned by the African side in 2002.
As a reminder, the World Cup begins on Thursday, June 11, 2026 and runs for 39 days with the final being played on Sunday, July 19, 2026. It will follow the usual phases of the group stage followed by knockout rounds until we have our winner.
Ranked fourth in FIFA world rankings, England saw its worst-case scenario unfold when Croatia – the top-ranked team in Pot B – was drawn into the same group. From NFL plays to
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