Everything you need to know about the 2026 World Cup in North America

An artisan paints replicas of the World Cup trophy at a stall in Tepito, Mexico City by ProtoplasmaKid – Wikimedia Commons

Everything you need to know about the 2026 World Cup in North America

Qatar 2022! What a ride it has been. As I write this, we’re at the finals and we’ve seen it all. Underdogs such as Morocco have won over the world. Giants like Belgium and Germany were handed disappointments early on and favorites like Brazil were eliminated in the quarterfinals by a resilient Croatia side.

The ride is not over but we’ve witnessed one of the best World Cup tournaments ever so far despite the cloud of social and economic politics that appeared to mar the tournament at the beginning. I’m sure you’re wondering where is the next World Cup being held.

The next installment of the World Cup will be held in 2026 in North America. The tournament will be hosted by three nations; the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico. We can only hope that it will be better or even as good as Qatar’s installment of the tournament.

So, here’s everything you need to know about the 2026 World Cup as we wrap up in Qatar!

Hosted By 3 North American Countries

An image containing the flags of Canada, the U.S.A, and Mexico by Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pixabay

Three North American countries, the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico bid and won the race to host the 2026 World Cup. The North American bid beat Morocco with 134 votes to 65 out of a possible 203 votes at the FIFA Congress in Moscow 2018. One of the members voted “neither bid”.

The tournament will be returning to North America for the first time since 1994 when the U.S. hosted back in 1994 (alone). This will be the first time three nations are jointly hosting the tournament ever.

Change in Format

On January 10th, 2017, the FIFA council voted unanimously to expand the FIFA World Cup to a 48-team tournament. Up until the 2022 installment of the tournament, there were 32 teams divided into 8 groups of 4 where the top two from each group proceeded to the round of 16.

In the new format, which will take effect as of 2026, there will be 16 groups of 3 teams and the top two from each group will proceed to the Round of 32. Those opposing the expansion of the World Cup argued more games for players would lower the quality of matches and exhaust players.

However, in the new format, there is one less group game which compensates for the extra knockout round. There will be a total of 80 matches at the 2026 World Cup (unless the format is changed) which is an increase from the normal 64 games.

Games Held In 16 Different Cities

The exterior of the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia by Atlanta Falcons – Wikimedia Commons

The 23rd FIFA World Cup will be hosted in 16 different cities from the three host nations. On 16th June 2022, FIFA announced the official list of host cities.

In the United States, 11 cities were selected; Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Boston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Miami. Canada was awarded 2 cities; Vancouver and Toronto. Mexico on the other hand received 3 cities; Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Mexico City.

The two Canadian cities will be hosting for the very first time while Mexico City and Guadalajara will be hosting for the third time (1970 and 1986). Monterey will be hosting for the second time.

Out of the 80 games, 60 games will be played in the U.S. including every match from the quarter-finals onward. Mexico and Canada will each host 10 matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Stadiums/Venues

Interior of SoFi Stadium by Troutfarm27 – Wikipedia

All 16 cities each have been allocated one stadium to host the football/soccer matches during the tournament. Eight (8) of the 16 stadiums are fitted with permanent artificial turfs. However, as per FIFA regulations, they will be replaced with grass for the tournament. Five of the venues have retractable roof systems.

BMO Field in Toronto has a capacity of 30,000 which is short of the FIFA-required 40,000. However, the stadium is being expanded to 45,500 for the tournament. Below is a breakdown of the stadiums and their capacities:

No stadium that was a host during the 1994 World Cup in the USA is being used. The Estadio Azteca is the only other stadium that has ever hosted World Cup games before back in 1970 & 1986.

The Tournament Will Be Held June-July 2026

The 2022 installment of the FIFA World Cup was held in November and December and became the first World Cup to be held during Winter (For European and American nations). This change in the period/season saw the tournament being hosted in the middle of regular club football.

However, 2026 will see the scheduling of the World Cup return to the normal or rather traditional period. The tournament will be held from June to July of 2026, with the dates yet to be confirmed.

Qualifying for the 2026 World Cup

The 6 FIFA Confederations by EOZyo – Wikipedia

There are 211 FIFA countries in the 6 continental zones that will distribute the 48 slots. This is done through playing qualification matches according to the continental zones.

Due to the variations in continent size and other factors, FIFA delineates six zones and the number of slots that are up for grabs by the nations in each zone. They are as follows; UEFA (Europe) 16 slots, CAF (Africa) 9 slots, AFC (Asia) 8 slots, CONCACAF (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean) 6 slots, CONMEBOL (South America) 6 slots, and OFC (Oceania) 1 slot.

This brings the tally to 46 slots/tickets to the 2026 World Cup. The remaining two slots can be grabbed in a mini-tournament (playoffs) by select nations from all zones. Six countries are allowed to enter the playoffs: two from zone CONCACAF, one from zone CAF, one from AFC, one from CONMEBOL, and one from OFC.

The qualification matches will be played from 2023 to 2025. The groups, matches, and dates will be determined during the draw in July 2023.

Players Who Are Likely to Miss

Messi Celebrates a goal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup by Kirill Venediktov – Wikimedia Commons

As enjoyable as the 2022 World Cup has been, the sad part that we don’t want to focus on is that it might be the last time we see some of our best players at this stage. For one, the GOAT (to some), Lionel Messi, has already confirmed that the 2022 World Cup is his last. Sad, but not shocking as he will be 39 in 2026. However, he is a finalist in Qatar 2022. Will he win it and cement his position as the Greatest Of All Time?

Another likely absentee will be Cristiano Ronaldo (the GOAT to others) who after being knocked out unexpectedly by Morocco means he won’t ever win it. Another fan favorite who will miss is Luka Modric. At 37 years of age, he lit up Qatar like he was in his twenties! However, you have to wonder if he has one more World Cup in him which I highly doubt.

Other major absentees will include; Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, Jordan Henderson, Thiago Silva, Luis Suarez, Manuel Neuer, and several members of Belgium’s golden era including Dries Mertens and Jan Vertonghen.