2026 World Cup schedule set for 104 matches across three countries

FIFA has set a 104-match World Cup schedule that stretches from Mexico City to New York New Jersey, turning the 2026 tournament into the largest in the event’s history. The competition runs across 16 host cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with the opener set for Mexico City Stadium on Thursday, June 11, 2026, and the final slated for Sunday, July 19, 2026.

The scale is new for the sport and for viewers. It is the 23rd World Cup, the first to feature 48 teams and the first to be staged across three host countries. CBS Sports described the competition as 104 matches across 38 days, and FIFA said the schedule was built to minimize travel while prioritizing rest and recovery. The hosts Canada, Mexico and the USA were the only teams that already knew their match venues before the updated schedule was unveiled, a sign of how tightly the calendar was arranged around logistics as well as competition.

The daily rhythm will feel relentless across North America. U.S. captain Tim Ream told CBS News it is like “a Super Bowl every single day for five weeks,” a line that captures the tournament’s new pace more than any formal briefing could. With matches spread from one country to another and kickoff windows designed around a continent-wide audience, the World Cup will not play out like a single-center event. It will be a rolling schedule that moves through airports, time zones and television grids for more than a month.

Broadcast access will be unusually broad in the United States. FOX Sports said all 104 matches will air live across FOX and FS1, with every game streaming live and on-demand on FOX One and the FOX Sports app. CBS News said viewers with a TV antenna, or access to the FOX network channel through a smart TV, can watch 70 matches for free, while the rest will be carried on FS1, the cable channel.

Spanish-language coverage will also reach most households without a paywall. CBS News said every match will air on Telemundo and Universo, and 92 of the 104 games will be free in Spanish. FIFA said 1,248 players representing 48 nations were confirmed in final squad lists on June 2, adding one more marker of a tournament built to dominate the North American summer from the opening whistle to the last medal ceremony.