THE WORLD CUP
IS IN AMERICA
The biggest tournament in soccer history comes home — 48 nations, 104 matches, 16 cities across the USA, Mexico & Canada.
The USA
won its group.
On home soil under Mauricio Pochettino, the United States topped Group D ahead of Paraguay, Australia and Türkiye — and march into the knockout rounds with Christian Pulisic leading the line.
1st
Group D
Pochettino
Head coach
QF
realistic ceiling
🇺🇸 The 26-man squad — key names
Best-ever finish: 3rd (1930). Modern peak: quarterfinals, 2002.
The road to the Final
Six rounds, 39 days, 104 matches — from the Azteca opener to MetLife on July 19. The Round of 32 is brand new for the 48-team era.
Group stage
48 → 32
Jun 11 – 27
12 groups of 4
Round of 32
32 → 16
Jun 28 – Jul 3
New for 2026
Round of 16
16 → 8
Jul 4 – 7
Quarter-finals
8 → 4
Jul 9 – 11
Semi-finals
4 → 2
Jul 14 – 15
Dallas · Atlanta
Final
2 → 🏆
Jul 19
MetLife, NJ
The 12 groups
Twelve groups of four. The top two from each — plus the eight best third-placed teams — reach the new Round of 32. The USA headlines Group D.
$0M
Winner's prize
$0M
Total prize pool — largest ever
0.0M
Projected attendance (record)
0B
Projected global audience
Who lifts the trophy?
France and Spain lead the field, with England close behind. The USA is a long shot to win it all — but on home soil, anything past the quarters would be historic.
Implied probabilities, live mid-group-stage. Odds shift constantly and vary by sportsbook.
Most successful nations
Eight countries have ever won the World Cup. Brazil leads with five. Can a ninth name join the list in 2026?
The Golden Boot race
Top-scorer favorites. Messi surged to the front after a group-stage barrage — chasing one last piece of history at 38.
Lionel Messi
Favorite
Kylian Mbappé
#2 in the market
Harry Kane
#3 in the market
Erling Haaland
#4 in the market
Odds approximate and vary by sportsbook.
All 48 nations
Every qualified team. Four debutants: 🇨🇼 Curaçao, 🇨🇻 Cape Verde, 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan, 🇯🇴 Jordan — Curaçao the smallest country ever to qualify.
By confederation
Hosts
· 3Europe
· 16South America
· 6Africa
· 10Asia
· 9N. & C. America
· 3Oceania
· 1The stars to watch
From Pulisic carrying American hopes to the likely final World Cups of Messi (38) and Ronaldo (41) — and the new generation ready to take over.
Christian Pulisic
USA
The host nation's talisman and the face of the USMNT.
Lionel Messi
Argentina
Record 6th World Cup — almost certainly his last dance.
Kylian Mbappé
France
Captain of the favorites. Already has 12 World Cup goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Portugal
Also a 6th World Cup, still chasing the one trophy that eludes him.
Lamine Yamal
Spain
The teenage prodigy ranked the #1 player at the tournament.
Jude Bellingham
England
England's engine — carrying real title expectations.
Vinícius Jr
Brazil
Brazil's talisman and a former FIFA Best winner.
Erling Haaland
Norway
First major tournament — Norway is back after 28 years away.
Career milestones — World Cup goals
0
Lionel Messi
122 intl goals · All-time WC goals record
0
Cristiano Ronaldo
143 intl goals · Most men's intl goals ever
0
Kylian Mbappé
58 intl goals · France's all-time top scorer
0
Harry Kane
74 intl goals · Ties Lineker's England WC tally
16 cities, 16 stadiums
From the opener at Mexico City's Azteca to the Final at MetLife. Dallas's AT&T Stadium hosts the most matches (9), including a semifinal.
🇺🇸 New York / NJ
81kMetLife Stadium
🏆 Final🇲🇽 Mexico City
81kEstadio Azteca
Opening match🇺🇸 Dallas
71kAT&T Stadium
Semifinal · 9 matches🇺🇸 Atlanta
68kMercedes-Benz Stadium
Semifinal🇺🇸 Miami
64kHard Rock Stadium
Third place🇺🇸 Los Angeles
70kSoFi Stadium
Group + knockouts🇺🇸 SF Bay Area
69kLevi's Stadium
Group + R32🇺🇸 Seattle
67kLumen Field
Group + R32🇺🇸 Kansas City
69kArrowhead Stadium
Group + QF🇺🇸 Houston
69kNRG Stadium
Group + R16🇺🇸 Philadelphia
68kLincoln Financial Field
Group + R16🇺🇸 Boston
64kGillette Stadium
Group + QF🇲🇽 Monterrey
51kEstadio BBVA
Group + R32🇲🇽 Guadalajara
46kEstadio Akron
Group stage🇨🇦 Vancouver
52kBC Place
Group + R32🇨🇦 Toronto
43kBMO Field
Group + R32The one big challenge: summer heat 🥵
A June–July tournament across the southern US and Mexico means real heat — about a third of matches are at risk of dangerous conditions, and only 3 of 16 stadiums (Houston, Dallas, Atlanta) are air-conditioned.
95
🇲🇽 Monterrey
heat-risk index
92
🇺🇸 Miami
heat-risk index
86
🇺🇸 Kansas City
heat-risk index
70
🇺🇸 Houston
heat-risk index
Heat-risk index (0–100) is an editorial composite of temperature, humidity and stadium cover — not an official FIFA metric.