FIFA World Cup 2026 brings 104 matches to U.S., Canada, Mexico

The 2026 FIFA World Cup has stretched into a continent-spanning, 104-match event, with the United States carrying most of the load: 78 games, from the opener in Mexico City to the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Tim Ream, the U.S. captain, called it “a Super Bowl every single day for five weeks,” a line that captures the scale of a tournament FIFA designed to feel less like a single host-country sprint and more like a month-long North American fixture.

FIFA’s expanded 48-team field has been spread across 16 host cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with 13 matches in Canada and 13 in Mexico. The tournament opened June 11 at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca and is scheduled to end July 19 at New York/New Jersey Stadium. Opening ceremony festivities began in Mexico City ahead of kickoff, and FIFA said the calendar was built to reduce travel and protect player rest and recovery, a change that matters in a format this large.

For U.S. viewers, the broadcast map is straightforward. Fox and FS1 are carrying the English-language coverage, while Telemundo and Universo are carrying the Spanish-language broadcasts. CBS News reported that 70 matches can be watched free over the air on Fox, including for viewers using a TV antenna or accessing the Fox network channel through a smart TV. In Spanish, 92 of the 104 matches are free on Telemundo, giving more households a way in without a paid subscription.

The schedule, updated by FIFA on Dec. 6, 2025, has altered the rhythm of the tournament compared with past World Cups. Instead of one compact host nation, matches are distributed across the United States, Mexico and Canada, with designated opening matches in Los Angeles, Mexico City and Toronto. That structure is meant to cut down on travel and preserve recovery time, but it also means fans will be following the event in waves, not all at once, as the bracket moves from city to city over more than five weeks.

For American viewers, the final now sits firmly on home soil, and the tournament’s center of gravity has shifted with it. With the biggest World Cup in history underway across North America, the key details are simple: June 11 to July 19, 104 matches, 48 teams, and a broadcast footprint built to reach viewers in both English and Spanish.