2026 FIFA World Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, also called FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd edition. It takes place from June to July 19, 2026, hosted by 16 cities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States – the first World Cup with three hosts. Argentina is the current champion. This tournament includes 48 teams, up from 32, and was won by the United States over Morocco. It's the first multi-nation World Cup since 2002. Mexico has hosted twice before, while it's Canada's first time. The event returns to its traditional summer schedule, unlike the 2022 World Cup in Qatar held in November and December.

2026 FIFA World Cup

Coupe du Monde de la FIFA - Unis 2026 Copa Mundial de la FIFA Unidos 2026
Tournament details
Host country	Canada United States Mexico
Teams	48 (from 6 confederations)
← 2022 2030 →

Venues

Mexico City[1]	New York/New Jersey[1]	Dallas[1]	Kansas City[1]
Estadio Azteca†	MetLife Stadium(East Rutherford, New Jersey)	AT&T Stadium(Arlington, Texas)	Arrowhead Stadium
Capacity: 87,523	Capacity: 82,500 (Bid book capacity: 87,157)	Capacity: 80,000 (Bid book capacity: 92,967) (expandable to 105,000)	Capacity: 76,416 (Bid book capacity: 76,640)
Houston[1]	Atlanta[1]	Los Angeles[1][2]	Philadelphia[1]
NRG Stadium	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	SoFi Stadium(Inglewood, California)	Lincoln Financial Field
Capacity: 72,220 (expandable to 80,000)	Capacity: 71,000 (Bid book capacity: 75,000) (expandable to 83,000)	Capacity: 70,240 (expandable to 100,240)	Capacity: 69,796 (Bid book capacity: 69,328)
Seattle[1]	San Francisco Bay Area[1]	Boston[1]	Miami[1]
Lumen Field	Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, California)	Gillette Stadium(Foxborough, Massachusetts)	Hard Rock Stadium(Miami Gardens, Florida)
Capacity: 69,000 (expandable to 72,000)	Capacity: 68,500 (Bid book capacity: 70,909) (expandable to 75,000)	Capacity: 65,878 (Bid book capacity: 70,000)	Capacity: 64,767 (Bid book capacity: 67,518)
Vancouver	Monterrey[1]	Guadalajara[1]	Toronto[1]
BC Place	Estadio BBVA(Guadalupe, Nuevo León)	Estadio Akron(Zapopan, Jalisco)	BMO Field
Capacity: 54,500	Capacity: 53,500 (Bid book capacity: 53,460)	Capacity: 49,850 (Bid book capacity: 48,071)	Capacity: 30,000 (Expanding to 45,736 for tournament)

Teams

Qualification

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

  Teams qualified

  Team whose qualification process has yet to be decided

  Teams failed to qualify

  Teams withdrew or suspended

  Not a FIFA member

The United Bid expected all three host countries to get automatic World Cup spots. FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed this on August 31, 2022, with Canada, Mexico, and the United States securing spots as hosts.^[3][4] The FIFA Council officially confirmed this on February 14, 2023. Before the 67th FIFA Congress, the FIFA Council met in Manama, Bahrain, and approved the slot allocation.^[5][6] This includes a playoff tournament with six teams to decide the final two World Cup spots.

In the playoffs, there will be one team from each confederation except UEFA, and an extra team from the host countries' confederation, CONCACAF. Two seeded teams (based on World Rankings) will face off against the winners of two knockout games between the unseeded teams. These matches will take place in one or more of the host countries and serve as a test event for the World Cup.^[7] This allocation also ensures that the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) gets a guaranteed spot in the tournament for the first time.^[8] So, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the first where all six confederations have at least one guaranteed spot, and all continents will have teams in the finals for the first time since 2010.^[8]

AFC (2)

•  Iran
•  Japan

CONCACAF (3)

•  Canada (co-host)
•  Mexico (co-host)
•  United States (co-host)

CONMEBOL (1)

•  Argentina

OFC (1)

•  New Zealand

Draw

The group stage draw will take place in December 2025. While no host venue has been confirmed, Las Vegas and other cities have bid to host.^[9] The four winners of the UEFA play-offs and the two winners of the inter-confederation play-off tournament will not be known at the time of the draw. This is because these matches are scheduled to occur in March 2026.

For the draw, 48 teams will allocated into four pots, based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking from November/December 2025. Pot 1 will contain co-hosts Mexico, Canada and United States (who were automatically assigned to position A1, B1, and D1, respectively) and the best nine teams. Pot 2 will have the next best twelve teams, with the next best twelve teams into pot 3. Pot 4 will consist of the six lowest-ranked teams, along with the placeholders for the two inter-confederation play-off winners and four UEFA play-off winners.