World Cup ’26 knockout schedule set for hosts

FIFA has released the remainder of its game schedule for the 2026 World Cup.

While World Cup qualifying is ongoing, making the exact placement of most teams still to be determined, the announcement allows fans of hosts Canada, Mexico and the United States to map out where their games could potentially be beyond the group stage.

The three co-hosts already know their group stage destinations, with Canada opening in Toronto followed by two matches in Vancouver.

Mexico will play its first and last group stage games in Mexico City, sandwiched around its second match in Guadalajara.

The U.S. has a similar arrangement, playing its first and third games in Los Angeles with its second match in Seattle.

The path after the group stage depends on where the hosts finish.

If the U.S. finishes first in Group D, its path will see it play in the San Francisco Bay Area in the round of 32 on July 1.

The potential path then could see the USMNT head to Seattle in the round of 16 on July 6, Los Angeles in the quarterfinals on July 10, Dallas for the semifinal on July 14, and New York for the final on July 19.

If the U.S. reaches the third-place match that will be in Miami on July 18.

If the U.S. finishes second in its group, a possible progression will see it play a round of 32 match in Dallas on July 3, a round of 16 match in Atlanta on July 7, a quarterfinal in Kansas City on July 11, with the semis and final/third place match in Dallas, New York and Miami.

If Mexico finishes first in Group A, it could play in Mexico City for both the round of 32 on June 30, and round of 16 on July 5.

If El Tri reaches the quarterfinals it will play Miami on July 11, possibly followed by the aforementioned semifinal in Atlanta on July 15 and the third place/final games in Miami and New York on July 18 and 19, respectively.

If Mexico finishes second in their group their possible path through the remainder of the tournament would see them play in Los Angeles in the round of 32 on June 28, Houston in the round of 16 on July 4, Boston in the quarterfinals on July 9, followed by the semifinal in Dallas on July 14 and then the final/third place games.

A first-place finish in Group B by Canada could see it play both the round of 32 and round of 16 games in Vancouver, on July 2 and July 7, respectively. Should Canada progress past that point, its potential path would see it play a quarterfinal in Kansas City on July 11 and a semifinal in Atlanta on July 15, followed by the final/third place games in New York and Miami.

Should Canada finish second in Group C, it’s possible path would see it play a round of 32 game in Los Angeles on June 28, a round of 16 match in Houston on July 4, a quarterfinal in Boston on July 9, followed by the aforementioned Atlanta semifinal, as well as the final and third place matches.

The 2026 tournament will feature 48 teams for the first time in history, after FIFA expanded the field from the 32 it had used since 1998. Only 24 teams competed in 1994, when the United States last hosted the men’s World Cup.

Also on Wednesday, FIFA released a sneak peak of the 24 cities that could potentially host the 48 participating countries’ training facilities, or “base camps.”

Nine cities outside of the host cities for matches are included as potential sites. The final decisions will be determined by a lottery, FIFA said.

Chattanooga, Cincinnati, Green Bay, Westfield, Irvine, Louisville, St. Louis, Salt Lake City and San Antonio are among the additional site options.

“Even if a city is not staging matches, a participating team coming to stay creates a strong personal bond with the competition for people locally,” World Cup COO Heimo Schirgi said. “It will see them adopt their guests as a second team during the tournament, thereby connecting even more people to the FIFA World Cup.”