The FIFA World Cup is the premier professional football competition for men's national teams worldwide, governed by FIFA. The tournament takes place every four years and, starting in 2026, features an expanded format with 48 teams competing for the title. The reigning champion is Argentina, and the team that holds the most titles is Brazil (5 titles). Sofascore tracks live football scores, standings, results, statistics, and top scorers for the World Cup and its qualification rounds.

Competition Format for FIFA World Cup 2026

The 2026 tournament features a record 48 national teams and an unprecedented schedule of 104 matches in total.

• The initial stage is composed of 12 groups of four teams. Every team plays three matches within its group.
• The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, advance to a new Round of 32.
• From there, the competition follows a traditional single-elimination knockout bracket, meaning the two teams that reach the final will have played a total of eight matches.

FIFA World Cup 2026: Key Dates and Venues

The World Cup 2026 will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The tournament begins on Thursday, June 11, 2026, with the opening match held at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The final match is scheduled for Sunday, July 19, 2026, at the New York New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium) in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Matches will be played across 16 stadiums in 16 cities:

1. Two in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver)
2. Three in Mexico (Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey)
3. Eleven in the United States (Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York / New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle)

The United States will host all games from the Quarter-Finals onwards. The Final Draw, which will determine the 12 groups, is scheduled for Friday, December 5, 2025, and will be held in Washington, D.C.

FIFA World Cup Teams and History

As of late October 2025, 28 teams have already secured their places, including the three host qualifiers:

1. Canada
2. Mexico
3. United States

Other nations qualified for FIFA World Cup 2026 include:

1. Six teams from South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
2. Eight teams from Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
3. Nine teams from Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
4. One team from Oceania: New Zealand
5. One team from Europe: England

The remaining 20 spots will be finalized by March 2026.

The team with the most titles in the FIFA World Cup is Brazil, with 5 championships. The first FIFA World Cup, held in 1930, was won by the host nation, Uruguay. The current titleholder in the FIFA World Cup is Argentina, who won the 2022 tournament. The average number of goals per match in the FIFA World Cup 2022 was 2.69.