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Argentina will soon embark on their quest to become just the third team, after Italy and Brazil, to retain the World Cup.
World Cup 2026 will be played in June and July in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It's the first time the tournament will be shared between three host nations. Canada host for the first time, the United States for the second and Mexico for the third.
Argentina arrive at the summer showpiece as reigning champions and will take on Algeria, Austria and Jordan in Group J. By the time they meet their North African opponents at Arrowhead Stadium, the tournament will be well underway.
When does World Cup 2026 start?
The World Cup schedule will begin with a rematch of the World Cup 2010 opener between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Mexico vs South Africa is the first game of the tournament and will be played on Thursday, June 11. It's a 1:00pm kick-off local time, which is 8:00pm in the United Kingdom.
The knock-out matches begin with the first round of 32 fixture at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, June 28 and the 104-match colossus concludes with the World Cup 2026 final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday, July 19.
Local kick-off time for the final is 3:00pm, which is 8:00pm in the UK.
Mauricio Pochettino's United States will play their first game against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium on Friday, June 12. Canada, coached by Jesse Marsch, will take on Bosnia and Herzegovina at BMO Field on the same day.
England and Scotland will both be in action in North America this summer. The Three Lions play their first fixture against Croatia on Wednesday, June 17 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Steve Clarke's Scotland get their tournament started with their Group C opener against Haiti at Gillette Stadium near Boston on Saturday, June 13.
Getting organised for this World Cup will be nearly as challenging as playing and winning it. FourFourTwo has some tools to help you get your plans in place and stay on top of all 104 fixtures.
We have a list of more than 300 pubs that are recommended for your communal World Cup watching in the UK, and all the World Cup broadcaster information you need wherever you are in the world.
There's also a print-at-home World Cup wallchart to keep you on schedule and a sync-ready World Cup calendar for Google Calendar and iCal.
