2026 FIFA World Cup: Canada, Mexico and USA

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the 23rd edition of an international football tournament between the national men's teams of countries affiliated with FIFA. The event is being held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The tournament takes place from June 11 to July 19, 2026.

General

This is the first edition in which 48 countries are active in the final tournament. At the start, those countries were divided into twelve groups of four, with the top two and eight third-placed teams advancing to the round of 32. It is the first World Championship to be organized in three countries. The final tournament lasts 40 days and 104 matches will be played.

Curaçao, Jordan, Cape Verde, and Uzbekistan are making their World Cup debut this edition. Congo-Kinshasa and Haiti are participating for the first time since 1974, and Iraq for the first time since 1986. For Norway, Austria, and Scotland, it is their first participation since 1998. For South Africa, this is the first tournament since 2002 for which they managed to qualify (in 2010 they participated because they hosted the tournament). For Qatar, the host country of 2022, it is their first (independent) qualification ever after being automatically qualified as the host country at the previous tournament. Compared to 2022, 26 countries are participating in this tournament that also qualified at the previous edition.

Match ball

The official match ball is the Adidas Trionda. The ball was officially presented by FIFA and manufacturer Adidas on October 2, 2025. The name Trionda is derived from the words tri (three) and onda (Spanish for wave), referring to the three host countries of the tournament: Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

The design of the ball is based on a combination of red, green, and blue, each representing one of the organizing countries. Additionally, the ball features visual elements and relief patterns with national symbols, such as a maple leaf for Canada, an eagle for Mexico, and a star for the United States. Gold accents reference the FIFA World Cup. The Trionda has an innovative construction with only four thermally bonded panels, the lowest number ever for a World Cup ball. This design is intended to improve aerodynamics, flight stability, and control.

Just like at the previous edition of the World Cup, the ball features so-called “connected ball technology”, where a sensor in the ball transmits real-time data to the video assistant referee (VAR) system to support decisions.

Stadiums

After it became known that the United States, Mexico, and Canada wanted to jointly host this World Cup, a list was released on August 15, 2017, containing the cities and stadiums eligible to serve as host cities. In total, the list contained 49 stadiums and 44 cities. The committee wants to include 20 to 25 of these in the official bid to be sent to FIFA in March 2018.[10] In the months that followed, the number of stadiums was reduced. On September 7, 2017, there were still 44 stadiums in 41 cities. On October 4, 2017, there were 32 host cities, four of which were in Canada, three in Mexico, and the remaining 25 in the United States. On March 14, 2018, a number of cities voluntarily withdrew as host cities, and the number of stadiums was then 23.

On June 16, 2022, the final host cities and stadiums were announced by FIFA. A total of sixteen stadiums are being used for the World Cup. Two of those stadiums are located in Canada, three in Mexico, and eleven in the United States. The opening match took place at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico.

During the World Cup, the stadiums are temporarily referred to by a different name. According to FIFA rules, sponsors unrelated to the World Cup are not allowed to be featured. The stadiums, which often bore the names of companies, are temporarily renamed to neutral names. Primarily the place name followed by the word 'Stadium'.

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