2026 World Cup: Teams, rosters, schedules and everything else you need to know before kickoff

The 2026 World Cup is the first men's World Cup in the United States since the 1994 tournament, and it'll be unlike any World Cup ever played.

>The field has been supersized from 32 to 48 teams and the competition will begin in earnest on June 11 with Mexico hosting South Africa at Mexico City's famed Estadio Azteca. The first U.S. game is the following day, as the Americans will host Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

>This World Cup will be the first one that is played in three countries. Canada (two cities) and Mexico (three) will each host 13 games. The remaining 78 matches will be played in 11 cities across the U.S., including all eight games from the quarterfinals onward.

>Here's everything you need to know to get ready for the tournament.

>

World Cup groups, teams and rostersThe World Cup draw took place on Dec. 5 and the 48 teams were slotted into 12 groups of four. The teams were given a final roster deadline of June 1, so we already know who will be representing each country (click on the teams below to see each roster).

>Group A: Czechia, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea Group B: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Qatar, Switzerland Group C: Brazil, Haiti, Morocco, Scotland Group D: Australia, Paraguay, Türkiye, United States Group E: Curaçao, Ecuador, Germany, Ivory Coast Group F: Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Tunisia Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand Group H: Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Uruguay Group I: France, Iraq, Norway, Senegal Group J: Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Jordan Group K: Colombia, Congo DR, Portugal, Uzbekistan Group L: Croatia, England, Ghana, Panama

GROUP A

GROUP B

GROUP C

GROUP D

1. Mexico

1. Canada

1. Brazil

1. USA

2. South Africa

2. Bosnia and Herzegovina

2. Morocco

2. Paraguay

3. Korea Republic

3. Qatar

3. Haiti

3. Australia

4. Czechia

4. Switzerland

4. Scotland

4. Türkiye

GROUP E

GROUP F

GROUP G

GROUP H

1. Germany

1. Netherlands

1. Belgium

1. Spain

2. Curaçao

2. Japan

2. Egypt

2. Cape Verde

3. Ivory Coast

3. Sweden

3. Iran

3. Saudi Arabia

4. Ecuador

4. Tunisia

4. New Zealand

4. Uruguay

GROUP I

GROUP J

GROUP K

GROUP L

1. France

1. Argentina

1. Portugal

1. England

2. Senegal

2. Algeria

2. DR Congo

2. Croatia

3. Iraq

3. Austria

3. Uzbekistan

3. Ghana

4. Norway

4. Jordan

4. Colombia

4. Panama

World Cup schedules by countryAlgeria Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Cabo Verde Canada Czechia Colombia Congo DR Cote d'Ivoire Croatia Curacao Ecuador Egypt England France Germany Ghana Haiti Iran Iraq Japan Jordan Korea Republic Mexico Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Norway Panama Paraguay Portugal Qatar Saudi Arabia Scotland Senegal South Africa Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkiye Tunisia Uruguay U.S. Uzbekistan

>Get full coverage of the 2026 World Cup in our soccer hub

Daily World Cup schedule (group stage)The group stage will begin Thursday with the aforementioned clash between Mexico and South Africa, along with South Korea vs. Czechia. After another two games on Friday — including the U.S. team's opener — the action really ramps up on Saturday with four games per day. (There are four group stage games that kick off at midnight ET. They are listed below on the previous day.)

>Then, in the final round of group play, there will be six games each day, with the teams in each group kicking off at the same time. Below is a daily World Cup game schedule so you can plan accordingly.

Thursday, June 11Group A: Mexico vs. South Africa, 3 p.m. Group A: South Korea vs. Czechia, 10 p.m.

Friday, June 12Group B: Canada vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina, 3 p.m. Group D: USA vs. Paraguay, 9 p.m.

Saturday, June 13Group B: Qatar vs. Switzerland, 3 p.m. Group C: Brazil vs. Morocco, 6 p.m. Group C: Haiti vs. Scotland, 9 p.m. Group D: Australia vs. Türkiye, 12 a.m. (midnight)

Sunday, June 14Group E: Germany vs. Curaçao, 1 p.m. Group F: Netherlands vs. Japan, 4 p.m. Group E: Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador, 7 p.m. Group F: Sweden vs. Tunisia, 10 p.m.

Monday, June 15Group H: Spain vs. Cape Verde, 12 p.m. Group G: Belgium vs. Egypt, 3 p.m. Group H: Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay, 6 p.m. Group G: Iran vs. New Zealand, 9 p.m.

Tuesday, June 16Group I: France vs. Senegal, 3 p.m. Group I: Iraq vs. Norway, 6 p.m. Group J: Argentina vs. Algeria, 9 p.m. Group J: Austria vs. Jordan, 12 a.m. (midnight)

Wednesday, June 17Group K: Portugal vs. DR Congo, 1 p.m. Group L: England vs. Croatia, 4 p.m. Group L: Ghana vs. Panama, 7 p.m. Group K: Uzbekistan vs. Colombia, 10 p.m.

Thursday, June 18Group A: Czechia vs. South Africa, 12 p.m. Group B: Switzerland vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina, 3 p.m. Group B: Canada vs. Qatar, 6 p.m. Group A: Mexico vs. South Korea, 9 p.m.

Friday, June 19Group D: USA vs. Australia, 3 p.m. Group C: Scotland vs. Morocco, 6 p.m. Group C: Brazil vs. Haiti, 8:30 p.m. Group D: Türkiye vs. Paraguay, 12 a.m. (midnight)

Saturday, June 20Group F: Netherlands vs. Sweden, 1 p.m. Group E: Germany vs. Ivory Coast, 4 p.m. Group E: Ecuador vs. Curaçao, 8 p.m. Group F: Tunisia vs. Japan, 12 a.m. (midnight)

Sunday, June 21Group H: Spain vs. Saudi Arabia, 12 p.m. Group G: Belgium vs. Iran, 3 p.m. Group H: Uruguay vs. Cape Verde, 6 p.m. Group G: New Zealand vs. Egypt, 9 p.m.

Monday, June 22Group J: Argentina vs. Austria, 1 p.m. Group I: France vs. Iraq, 5 p.m. Group I: Norway vs. Senegal, 8 p.m. Group J: Jordan vs. Algeria, 11 p.m.

Tuesday, June 23Group K: Portugal vs. Uzbekistan, 1 p.m. Group L: England vs. Ghana, 4 p.m. Group L: Panama vs. Croatia, 7 p.m. Group K: Colombia vs. DR Congo, 10 p.m.

Wednesday, June 24Group B: Switzerland vs. Canada, 3 p.m. Group B: Bosnia & Herzegovina vs. Qatar, 3 p.m. Group C: Scotland vs. Brazil, 6 p.m. Group C: Morocco vs. Haiti, 6 p.m. Group A: Czechia vs. Mexico, 9 p.m. Group A: South Africa vs. South Korea, 9 p.m.

Thursday, June 25Group E: Curaçao vs. Ivory Coast, 4 p.m. Group E: Ecuador vs. Germany, 4 p.m. Group F: Japan vs. Sweden, 7 p.m. Group F: Tunisia vs. Netherlands, 7 p.m. Group D: Türkiye vs. USA, 10 p.m. Group D: Paraguay vs. Australia, 10 p.m.

Friday, June 26Group I: Norway vs. France, 3 p.m. Group I: Senegal vs. Iraq, 3 p.m. Group H: Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia, 8 p.m. Group H: Uruguay vs. Spain, 8 p.m. Group G: Egypt vs. Iran, 11 p.m. Group G: New Zealand vs. Belgium, 11 p.m.

Saturday, June 27Group L: Panama vs. England, 5 p.m. Group L: Croatia vs. Ghana, 5 p.m. Group K: Colombia vs. Portugal, 7:30 p.m. Group K: DR Congo vs. Uzbekistan, 7:30 p.m. Group J: Algeria vs. Austria, 10 p.m. Group J: Jordan vs. Argentina, 10 p.m.

World Cup venuesIn total, there are 16 stadiums spanning across the U.S., Canada and Mexico that will be used during the month-long tournament.

>Estadio Azteca is the most well-known in Mexico, but sites in Monterrey and Guadalajara will also be used. Toronto and Vancouver will host in Canada. Then, in the United States, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle will be host cities. NFL stadiums have been retrofitted and rebranded to host the games due to FIFA rules, so you won't see usual signage for places like AT&T Stadium; it will be labeled Dallas Stadium instead.

>For a complete look at all of the venues, OneFootball broke down all the key details for each ahead of the World Cup.

How to watch the 2026 World CupIn the United States, all 104 matches are in English on Fox (70) and FS1 (34), and all are streamed on Fox One.

>For those who prefer Spanish-language broadcasts, 92 games will be on Telemundo, with the other 12 matches (all simultaneous group finales) on Universo.

>Here's how to watch all 104 World Cup matches for free, and here's a channel guide for the group stage games.

Who are the stars to watch?Two of the all-time greats are poised to be the first men to play in six World Cups.  Argentina's Lionel Messi, who turns 39 on June 24, won the Golden Ball as the best player at the 2022 tournament, tallying seven goals and three assists. Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo is already the only man to score at five World Cups, as the 41-year-old strives for the one major international trophy that has eluded him.

>At age 40, Croatia's Luka Modrić will be back for a fifth World Cup, assuming he recovers from cheekbone surgery in time. Modrić won the Golden Ball at the 2018 tournament, where Croatia was runner-up to France, and he led the team to a third-place finish in 2022.

>And while the U.S. doesn't have a star the caliber of those players, Christian Pulisic stands out as a player to watch on the team. He delivered a gutsy performance in shaking off an injury to help the Americans reach the knockout round at the 2022 World Cup, becoming a household name.

>Read more from Paul Carr on the stars to watch in our World Cup viewer's guide.

The U.S. men's national team will go as far as Christian Pulisic will take them this summer at the World Cup.World Cup managers to watchTactics and managerial decision-making can be the difference between winning and losing a World Cup game, and there are plenty of skippers in the tournament that have had success coaching around the globe.

>Perhaps none has had more recent success on the international stage as France's Didier Deschamps. He's guided Les Bleus to two consecutive finals in FIFA's quadrennial tournament, winning it all in 2018 and coming up heartbreakingly short four years ago in a penalty-shootout loss to Argentina.

>Here are four coaches to keep an eye on at the World Cup.

Best World Cup kitsWhich team has the coolest kits at the World Cup?

>Everybody is going to have their own preferences, but OneFootball pulled together photos for all of them after Athletic released its own rankings. While classics like Brazil, England and Germany wound up high on the list, a small African country took the cake.

>Check out all of the World Cup kits right here.

Required reading ahead of World CupHere are some more intriguing stories to dive into in the coming days:

Viewer’s guide: Format, new rules and more

• >How the American Outlaws became the heartbeat of U.S. Soccer

• >Can the USMNT take the next step? Final tuneup offers clues

• >How the U.S. has performed in every World Cup so far

• >Why the Americans can be trusted to win Group D

• >Predicting every single World Cup group

• >9 teams that could make a surprise run to the quarterfinals

• >Which favorites are most vulnerable to an early exit

Put your predictions to the testReady to put your World Cup knowledge to the test this summer? 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One is a new free-to-play Yahoo Fantasy game where fans make picks each round, earn points and climb the leaderboard.

>Play 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world's biggest soccer tournament

>There are plenty of ways to get in on the fun. You can play solo against the field, create a private group with friends for bragging rights, join a public group to play with other fans or take it up a notch and compete in a featured group against some of your favorite soccer analysts and media personalities — like the ones below!

Alexi Lalas

• >Yahoo Sports Talent

• >The Cooligans

• >Uncrowned

• >Other featured groups