2026 World Cup Roadmap: Every Game, Every Venue
The wait is over. The 2026 World Cup, the biggest tournament the sport has ever seen, now has its roadmap. Every kick, every city, every stadium is locked in from June 11 to July 19 across the USA, Canada and Mexico.
One hundred and four games. Sixteen venues. Forty-eight teams trying to survive a marathon that ends at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey.
A tournament built on scale
The curtain rises on June 11 in the most fitting of arenas: Estadio Azteca. Mexico face South Africa in Group A at 3pm ET, the first act of a World Cup that stretches from midnight kickoffs on the West Coast to humid afternoons in Texas and Florida.
On the same night, South Korea and Czechia meet in Guadalajara at Estadio Akron, a late 10pm start that hints at what this tournament will be — a constant, rolling wave of football across three countries and four time zones.
From there, the schedule becomes a map of modern football’s reach.
Mexico bounce between Mexico City and Guadalajara in a group that also sends Czechia to Atlanta and South Africa to Monterrey. Canada’s Group B journey stays close to home early, opening against Bosnia and Herzegovina at BMO Field in Toronto before shifting west to Vancouver and south to Seattle. Brazil begin in the glare of MetLife against Morocco, then head to Philadelphia and finally Miami in a Group C that also threads through Boston and Atlanta.
The USA’s own path in Group D feels like a tour of their new football heartlands: SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for the opener against Paraguay, Lumen Field in Seattle for Australia, then back to LA for a late-night clash with Turkiye. It is a schedule designed for noise.
Giants on the road
Some of the sport’s heaviest hitters are being sent on sprawling tours.
Germany start their Group E campaign in Houston against Curacao, then move north to Toronto before closing at MetLife against Ecuador. The Netherlands open at AT&T Stadium in Dallas against Japan, then visit Houston and Kansas City in a Group F that also drags Sweden and Tunisia across the continent.
Spain’s Group H schedule is compact but intense: twice at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, first against Cape Verde and then Saudi Arabia, before a high-stakes finale against Uruguay in Guadalajara. France, in Group I, are anchored to the East Coast — New York/New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia — but their opponents, Senegal, Iraq and Norway, are pulled between those same venues and Toronto.
Argentina’s title defense begins under the lights at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City against Algeria, then rolls through Dallas and back to Kansas City before a group finale against Jordan at AT&T Stadium. England’s Group L route sends them from Dallas to Toronto, Boston, back to Toronto and then to the vast bowl of MetLife for a potentially decisive meeting with Panama.
Portugal’s Group K, shared with Democratic Republic of Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia, is spread across Houston, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Miami and Atlanta. It’s a reminder: this is not a tournament of short hops and single time zones. It’s a test of travel as much as talent.
Group stage rhythm
From June 11 to June 27, the group stage barely pauses.
Games run from early afternoon to late night, with midnight ET kickoffs in Vancouver, Monterrey and the San Francisco Bay Area. SoFi Stadium, BC Place, Lumen Field, NRG Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium — each gets its turn as the center of the football world.
Key group finales are stacked toward the back end of June. Mexico close Group A at Estadio Azteca against Czechia on June 24, the same night South Africa meet South Korea in Monterrey. Canada finish Group B in Vancouver against Switzerland, while Bosnia and Herzegovina face Qatar in Seattle.
Scotland and Brazil end Group C in Miami on June 24. The USA wrap up Group D at SoFi against Turkiye on June 25. That same day, Ecuador and Germany collide at MetLife, and Japan meet Sweden in Dallas.
By June 27, the group stage ends with a flurry: Colombia vs Portugal in Miami, Jordan vs Argentina in Dallas, Panama vs England at MetLife, and Croatia vs Ghana in Philadelphia. Knockout brackets will be set in a matter of hours, not days.
The knockout maze: Round of 32
The expanded format’s new reality hits on June 28 with the Round of 32. No more safety net. No more slow starts.
SoFi Stadium opens the knockout phase with the runners-up from Groups A and B. From there, the tournament explodes across the map.
Houston hosts the winner of Group C against the runner-up in Group F. Boston stages the Group E winner against a third-place qualifier. Monterrey gets a heavyweight clash between the Group F winner and Group C runner-up.
Dallas, New York/New Jersey, Mexico City, Atlanta, Seattle, the Bay Area, Toronto, Vancouver, Miami and Kansas City all host Round of 32 ties between June 28 and July 3. Every group winner knows they will see a third-place team or a runner-up, but the exact opponent will hang on late-night results and goal difference.
By the end of July 3, 16 teams will be gone. The rest move on to a more familiar stage.
Round of 16 and the march to the final
The Round of 16 begins on July 4, fittingly in Houston and Philadelphia. Winners of early knockout ties converge: Match 73’s winner meets Match 75’s in Texas, while Match 74’s winner faces Match 77’s in Philly.
On July 5, MetLife hosts a Round of 16 clash involving the winner of Match 76, and that night Estadio Azteca stages another, pairing the winners of Matches 79 and 80. The old cathedral in Mexico City gets knockout football again, this time under the lights.
Dallas and Seattle share the spotlight on July 6. Atlanta and Vancouver close the Round of 16 on July 7. By then, the field will be down to eight.
Quarterfinals arrive quickly.
Boston hosts Match 97 on July 9. Los Angeles gets Match 98 on July 10. Miami and Kansas City share the July 11 billing, with Match 99 in Florida and Match 100 in Missouri. Each of those games will decide who goes to Dallas or Atlanta for the semifinals.
The final stretch
AT&T Stadium in Dallas takes the first semifinal on July 14, pitting the winners of Matches 97 and 98 against each other. The following day, July 15, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta stages the second semifinal between the winners of Matches 99 and 100.
Hard Rock Stadium in Miami will then host the third-place game on July 18, a contest that often swings between catharsis and regret.
And then comes the last word.
On Sunday, July 19, at 3pm ET, MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey will host Match 104: the World Cup final, between the winners of the two semifinals. A tournament that began at altitude in Mexico City will end on the East Coast, under a different sky, in front of a global audience.
The path is clear now. The only question left is who can handle the sheer scale of it.
