The FIFA World Cup is among the world’s premier international events. Held every four years since 1930, with some exceptions, the tournament brings together the best football nations in the world to compete for the coveted trophy. Brazil is the most accomplished nation in World Cup history, winning five times, including most recently in 2002. Germany and Italy have both won the World Cup four times and three other nations—Argentina, France, and Uruguay—have won at least twice.
After being held in the Middle East for the first time ever in 2022, the World Cup is returning to North America in 2026 for the first time since the United States hosted the tournament in 1994. In a unique twist, the US will host the event along with Mexico and Canada. FIFA selected the joint North American bid ahead of Morocco in a 134-65 vote among its executive members at the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow, Russia, in June 2018.
Hosted by Three Different Countries
The 2026 FIFA World Cup marks the first time in the event’s history that matches will take place in three different countries. Traditionally, FIFA selects one host nation to host all matches in the tournament. Only once has the World Cup taken place in two different countries and that was more than 20 years ago, when Japan and South Korea served as co-hosts.
Months prior to the 68th FIFA Congress, many believed that Morocco would win the rights to host the 2026 World Cup, but FIFA voters were apparently swayed by the partnership between the US, Mexico, and Canada, with the leaders of each national association going above and beyond to lobby voters. With weeks to go before FIFA made its decision, leaders for the United bid, including federation presidents Carlos Cordeiro (US), Decio de Maria (Mexico), and Steve Reed (Canada) established headquarters in London and traveled extensively to meet with and convince voters ahead of decision day. Officials often flew to as many as three countries each day, often flying commercial via low-cost carriers.
“It was overwhelmingly emotional for everyone, not just myself,” Cordeiro said after learning FIFA selected the United bid. “The power of the unity, the unity of the three nations coming together offering something no other country, including my own, can offer. It made the difference.”
Group stage and knockout matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be played in 16 North American cities, although 60 of the 80 combined matches will take place in the US. The US will host all matches from the quarter-finals onward, while Canada and Mexico will each host one round of 13 matches.
Canada’s First Time Hosting
While the US and Mexico have been fixtures in the World Cup and both hosted the event in the past, Canada is appearing in just its third World Cup and hosting for the first time. The US hosted the 1994 World Cup and Mexico hosted the event in 1970 and 1986. Canada qualified for just the second time in 2022, ending a 36-year absence from the tournament.
Expanded Field
The 2026 World Cup is also unique in that it will be the first to feature 48 teams. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar, like the previous six World Cups, had 32 teams. Only 24 nations participated in the World Cups from 1982 to 1994 and just 16 teams competed between 1934 and 1978.
The expanded field for the 2026 World Cup includes two more guaranteed berths for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and Confederation of African Football (CAF), as well as two shared between the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is also guaranteed a team in the draw for the first time in World Cup history.
Stadiums
Matches in Canada will take place at BMO Field in Toronto and BC Place in Vancouver, whereas Mexico will host matches at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, and Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, the latter of which is the largest stadium scheduled to host a match with a capacity of 87,523. Eleven stadiums in the US, including Lumen Field (Seattle), Gillette Stadium (Boston), and Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) will host matches. The final, scheduled for July 19, will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The Qualification Process
Qualification for the 2026 World Cup began on September 7 and will continue until March 2026. National teams play against other teams in their confederation and the teams with the most points receive automatic entry into the tournament. There’s a second-chance playoff for teams who just miss out on qualifying via their confederation games. In CONMEBOL, for example, the top six teams after Matchday 18 in September 2025 qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Argentina was in first place through Match Day 6, while Brazil held the sixth and final qualification spot. The seventh-place team gets a chance to qualify in the inter-confederation playoffs.