The World Cup qualifying playoffs are over and we now know the full 48-team field for this summer's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
, 42 teams that had qualified were placed into their respective groups. Six groups were slotted with the winners of the playoff finals. The United States, having automatically qualified as one of the tournament hosts, was already slotted into Group D. It willat SoFi Stadium in Inglewood , California against Paraguay .
The Americans will then play Australia before finishing the group stage against Türkiye. Canada is in Group B and will open against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto. Its final two group stage games will be against Qatar and Switzerland. Mexico had the honor of hosting the opening match of the World Cup during a 2-0 win over South Africa at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
The co-hosts will also face Korea and Czechia in Group A. The 48 teams were drawn in 12 four-team groups. Each team will play three games within its group to determine the countries that will advance to the knockout round stage. There will be 32 teams advancing to the knockout round following the group stage. The top two teams from each group will move on along with the eight best third-place teams.
Tiebreakers will consist of goal differential, goals scored, head-to-head play, fair play record and then drawing of lots. For this World Cup, FIFA has made tweaks. In the pursuit of competitive balance, two pathways have been created to the semifinals that will prevent the two highest-ranking teams from meeting before the final should they win their respective groups. As an example, Spain is the highest-ranked team in the tournament, with defending champion Argentina ranked second.
Those two nations were drawn into opposite pathways. It is the same for France and England , so the top four teams, should they win their groups, will not meet until the semifinals. As with all World Cups, teams from the same confederation were unable to be drawn into the same group, except for those from Europe. Want to experience the action first-hand?
Gametime is the best place to score tickets to the events in your city. Thursday, June 25, 10 p.m. Sunday, June 14, 10 p.m. Friday, June 26, 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, 12 a.m. Saturday, June 27, 10 p.m. Monday, June 29, 4:30 p.m. :Tuesday, June 30, 9 p.m. Thursday, July 2, 3 p.m. :Friday, July 3, 6 p.m. Ready to put your World Cup knowledge to the test this summer? 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One is aPlay 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
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