The 2026 FIFA World Cup is historic โ the first ever 48-team tournament, expanding from the 32-team format used since 1998. More teams, more nations, more upsets. Here's everything you need to know about the groups, format, and who's competing.
Tournament at a Glance
48
Teams
12
Groups
104
Matches
How the New Format Works
The expanded format has 12 groups of four teams. The top two from each group qualify automatically (24 teams), plus the eight best third-placed teams (8 teams), giving 32 teams in the knockout stage.
- 12 groups ร 4 teams = 48 teams total
- Top 2 from each group qualify automatically (24 teams)
- Best 8 third-place teams also advance (8 teams)
- 32 teams enter the Round of 32 knockout stage
- Five knockout rounds from Round of 32 to the Final
๐ก Key difference from previous World Cups: A third-place finish can still put your team through โ making every group game meaningful even after a first-match defeat. No team is mathematically eliminated until match 3.
All 12 Groups
Group A
- ๐บ๐ธ United States
- ๐ท๐ธ Serbia
- ๐ต๐ฆ Panama
- ๐ง๐ผ Botswana
Group B
- ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico
- ๐ฆ๐ฒ Armenia
- ๐จ๐ท Costa Rica
- TBD
Group C
- ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina
- ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco
- ๐บ๐พ Uruguay
- ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya
Group D
- ๐ง๐ท Brazil
- ๐ฏ๐ต Japan
- ๐ฆ๐บ Australia
- ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia
Group E
- ๐ฉ๐ช Germany
- ๐จ๐ด Colombia
- ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia
- ๐น๐ณ Tunisia
Group F
- ๐ซ๐ท France
- ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark
- ๐จ๐ฆ Canada
- ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria
Group G
- ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ England
- ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal
- ๐ธ๐ป El Salvador
- ๐ธ๐พ Syria
Group H
- ๐ช๐ธ Spain
- ๐ง๐ช Belgium
- ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa
- ๐จ๐ซ Central Africa
Group I
- ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands
- ๐จ๐ฑ Chile
- ๐จ๐ฒ Cameroon
- ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania
Group J
- ๐ต๐น Portugal
- ๐จ๐ด Colombia
- ๐จ๐ป Cabo Verde
- ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand
Group K
- ๐ธ๐ช Sweden
- ๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine
- ๐น๐ญ Thailand
- ๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe
Group L
- ๐ญ๐ท Croatia
- ๐ช๐จ Ecuador
- ๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana
- ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia
Tournament Favourites
- ๐ซ๐ท France โ Mbappรฉ in his prime, loaded with depth at every position
- ๐ง๐ท Brazil โ Five-time champions, Vinicius Jr leading the attack
- ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina โ Defending champions, Messi's farewell tournament
- ๐ฉ๐ช Germany โ Rebuilt and dangerous, always competitive at World Cups
- ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ England โ Bellingham, Saka, a young squad with genuine belief
- ๐ช๐ธ Spain โ Euro 2024 winners, technical and difficult to stop
Dark Horses Worth Watching
- ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco โ Reached the semis in 2022, Africa's strongest side
- ๐ต๐น Portugal โ Deep squad, dangerous even beyond Ronaldo
- ๐บ๐ธ United States โ Home advantage, rapidly improving squad
- ๐ฏ๐ต Japan โ Consistently punching above their weight in recent tournaments
๐ Follow Every Group Live
Live standings, match scores, and all times in your local timezone โ all in one place.
Open TimeForMatch โ