The 23rd FIFA Men’s World Cup will be played between June 12 and July 20 in America, Canada, and Mexico. For the first time in 96 years of history, three countries are hosting the World Cup.
The opening match will be played on June 12, 2026, in Mexico City. Mexico and South Africa will face each other in it.
104 matches will be played among 48 teams in 16 cities. These teams have been divided into 12 groups. Each group has four teams. Instead of 16, 32 teams will reach the knockout stage. 1,248 footballers from around the world, including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, will participate in the World Cup. Know everything about the tournament in the story
Mexico hosting FIFA WC for 3rd time
- In 2002, Japan and Korea co-hosted the FIFA World Cup for the first time. Now there are 3 countries: USA, Canada, and Mexico. Mexico is the first country to get the opportunity to host the Men’s World Cup three times (1970, 1986, and 2026).
- For the first time, 48 teams will play in this tournament. Until now, only 32 countries have participated since 1998. 104 matches will be held in 16 cities (previously 64). For the first time, a halftime show will also be featured in the final.
32 teams will play knockout instead of 16
- 48 teams have been divided into 12 groups, with 4 teams in each group. In the group stage, each team will play three matches. The top-2 teams from each group will directly advance to the knockout round, meaning 24 teams.
- The best 8 teams out of the 12 teams finishing third in each group will also get a spot in the next round. This way, 32 teams will enter the knockout stage.
- After the matches of 32 teams in the knockout stage, 16 teams will stay alive. Out of these 16 teams, 8 teams will play the quarter-finals. After this, the semi-finals and final will be played.
- Under this new format, a total of 104 matches will be played in the tournament, making it the largest World Cup in FIFA history.
France and Spain’s respective brutal groups
Defending champions Argentina have been placed in Group J. Spain is in Group H, France in Group I, Germany in Group E, Portugal in Group K and England in Group L.
Groups H, I, J, K and L are considered groups of death, as they contain strong teams. Spain’s group includes teams like Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, who caused many upsets in the last World Cup. France’s group has strong teams like Senegal and Norway.
Gordon is the oldest and Mora is the youngest player
According to FIFA, the oldest player in the tournament is Scotland’s goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who is 43 years and 162 days old. The youngest player is Mexico’s Gilberto Mora, who is 17 years and 240 days old. There is a difference of more than 25 years between the two.
22 players under the age of 20 will participate in this World Cup. 7 players aged 40 or more may also be seen on the field.
Craig has played 84 matches for Scotland since 2004.
Mora debuted for Mexico in 2025 and has played 8 matches so far.
Four countries participating in the WC for the 1st time
Cape Verde (rank 68), Curaçao (rank 82), Jordan (rank 66), and Uzbekistan (rank 50) will play in the World Cup for the first time. Additionally, Haiti has qualified for the first time since 1974. Austria, Norway, and Scotland are returning to the tournament after 1998.
Champion to get ₹429 crore
A prize pool of more than ₹5,600 crore (USD 655 million) will be distributed among the 48 teams participating in the World Cup 2026, which is 50% more than the previous World Cup.
The winning team of the tournament will receive approximately ₹429 crore (USD 50 million), while the runner-up will be given around ₹283 crore (USD 33 million). The team finishing in third place will receive approximately ₹249 crore, and the fourth-place team will get around ₹232 crore.
Brazil is the most successful team in history
Brazil has been the most successful team in the history of the FIFA World Cup. Brazil has won the World Cup title a record five times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002). Germany and Italy have won the trophy four times each. Argentina has been the champion three times (1978, 1986, and 2022).
FIFA began in 1930
- The FIFA World Cup is the biggest football tournament in the world. It started in 1930 in Uruguay, where the host Uruguay won the first title. After that, the World Cup began to be held every four years.
- Due to World War II, the tournament was not played in 1942 and 1946. In the early years, a limited number of teams participated in the tournament, but from 1998 to 2022, 32 teams continued to play in the World Cup.
This photo is from the 1930 World Cup. In this match, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4-2 to win the first World Cup.
Argentina won the 2022 World Cup
Argentina won the FIFA World Cup 2022 title. In the final match, Argentina defeated France 4-2 in a penalty shootout. In the match, Argentina’s captain Messi scored the most goals for Argentina, with 2. Meanwhile, Mbappe scored a hat-trick for France.
Argentina became World Champion in 2022 under Messi’s captaincy.
Where can you watch the tournament?
The FIFA World Cup 2026 broadcast will be available in India on Zee Entertainment’s newly launched Unite8 Sports Network. Meanwhile, the tournament’s live streaming will be available on the Zee5 app and its website. You can also watch match reports, moments, and records on the Bhaskar English app.
Matches in 12 different time zones
Matches will be played at 12 different times according to Indian Standard Time. 12:30 AM, 1:30 AM, 2:30 AM, 3:30 AM, 4:30 AM, 6:00 AM, 6:30 AM, 7:30 AM, 8:30 AM, 9:30 AM, 9:30 PM and 10:30 PM.
