Where the tournament stands
All 72 group-stage matches are complete and the Round of 32 is under way. Twelve group winners — Mexico, Switzerland, Brazil, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Argentina, Colombia and England — join the runners-up and the eight best third-placed sides in the 32-team knockout bracket. The opener is done (South Africa 0-1 Canada, Jun 28); the rest of the first round runs through July 3.
- ✅ All 72 group-stage matches complete — 32 teams into the knockout round.
- 🏆 Group winners: Mexico, Switzerland, Brazil, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, France, Argentina, Colombia, England.
- 🎟️ Best third-placed qualifiers: DR Congo, Sweden, Ecuador, Ghana, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Algeria, Paraguay, Senegal.
- ⚽ Round of 32 opener: South Africa 0-1 Canada (Jun 28). Today (Jun 30): Côte d'Ivoire v Norway, France v Sweden, Mexico v Ecuador.
- 👟 Golden Boot: Messi 6, then Mbappé, Dembélé, Vinícius Júnior & Haaland on 4.
- 1. Lionel Messi 🇦🇷 — 6
- 2. Mbappé 🇫🇷 · Dembélé 🇫🇷 · Vinícius Jr 🇧🇷 · Haaland 🇳🇴 — 4
- 6. Kane 🏴 · J. David 🇨🇦 · Undav 🇩🇪 — 3
Full final tables for all 12 groups are on our standings page, with the complete Round of 32 schedule and the live top-scorer race. Tomorrow (Jul 1): England v DR Congo, Belgium v Senegal, USA v Bosnia & Herzegovina.
The new 48-team format, explained
2026 is the first 48-team World Cup. FIFA originally proposed 16 groups of 3 with shootouts to break draws, but reversed course in March 2023 after Qatar 2022's dramatic group-stage finales (Costa Rica–Germany, Saudi Arabia toppling Argentina, Japan beating Spain) showed how much value the 4-team format adds.
The locked format is now 12 groups of 4 teams. From each group, the top 2 automatically advance. The 8 best third-placed teams across all 12 groups also advance — that's 32 teams into the knockout Round of 32. Then the bracket plays out as a normal single-elimination tournament: R32 → R16 → QF → SF → Final.
Practical impact: 104 matches in total, up from 64 at Qatar 2022. Group stage is 72 matches over 17 days. Players on deep-running squads now risk playing up to 8 matches — one more than the old format demanded.
Key dates & rounds
| Round | Dates | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Group stage | June 11 – June 27 | 72 matches across 12 groups |
| Round of 32 | June 29 – July 3 | 16 matches · first knockout round |
| Round of 16 | July 4 – July 7 | 8 matches |
| Quarterfinals | July 9 – July 11 | 4 matches |
| Semifinals | July 14 – July 15 | 2 matches |
| Third-place playoff | July 18 | 1 match |
| Final | July 19 | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ |
Groups A – L
Standings update live during the tournament. For full group tables, see our World Cup 2026 standings and the match schedule.
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico | 3 | 6:0 | +6 | 9 |
| 2 | South Africa | 3 | 2:3 | -1 | 4 |
| 3 | South Korea | 3 | 2:3 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Czechia | 3 | 2:6 | -4 | 1 |
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 3 | 7:3 | +4 | 7 |
| 2 | Canada | 3 | 8:3 | +5 | 4 |
| 3 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 3 | 5:6 | -1 | 4 |
| 4 | Qatar | 3 | 2:10 | -8 | 1 |
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil | 3 | 7:1 | +6 | 7 |
| 2 | Morocco | 3 | 6:3 | +3 | 7 |
| 3 | Scotland | 3 | 1:4 | -3 | 3 |
| 4 | Haiti | 3 | 2:8 | -6 | 0 |
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 3 | 8:4 | +4 | 6 |
| 2 | Australia | 3 | 2:2 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Paraguay | 3 | 2:4 | -2 | 4 |
| 4 | Türkiye | 3 | 3:5 | -2 | 3 |
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 3 | 10:4 | +6 | 6 |
| 2 | Côte d'Ivoire | 3 | 4:2 | +2 | 6 |
| 3 | Ecuador | 3 | 2:2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Curaçao | 3 | 1:9 | -8 | 1 |
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | 3 | 10:4 | +6 | 7 |
| 2 | Japan | 3 | 7:3 | +4 | 5 |
| 3 | Sweden | 3 | 7:7 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Tunisia | 3 | 2:12 | -10 | 0 |
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium | 3 | 6:2 | +4 | 5 |
| 2 | Egypt | 3 | 5:3 | +2 | 5 |
| 3 | Iran | 3 | 3:3 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 3 | 4:10 | -6 | 1 |
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 3 | 5:0 | +5 | 7 |
| 2 | Cape Verde | 3 | 2:2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Uruguay | 3 | 3:4 | -1 | 2 |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 1:5 | -4 | 2 |
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 3 | 10:2 | +8 | 9 |
| 2 | Norway | 3 | 8:7 | +1 | 6 |
| 3 | Senegal | 3 | 8:6 | +2 | 3 |
| 4 | Iraq | 3 | 1:12 | -11 | 0 |
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | 3 | 8:1 | +7 | 9 |
| 2 | Austria | 3 | 6:6 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Algeria | 3 | 5:7 | -2 | 4 |
| 4 | Jordan | 3 | 3:8 | -5 | 0 |
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombia | 3 | 4:1 | +3 | 7 |
| 2 | Portugal | 3 | 6:1 | +5 | 5 |
| 3 | DR Congo | 3 | 4:3 | +1 | 4 |
| 4 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 2:11 | -9 | 0 |
| Team | P | GF:GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 3 | 6:2 | +4 | 7 |
| 2 | Croatia | 3 | 5:5 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Ghana | 3 | 2:2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Panama | 3 | 0:4 | -4 | 0 |
Venues (16 total)
- MetLife Stadium — East Rutherford, NJ (Final, semifinal)
- AT&T Stadium — Arlington, TX (Semifinal)
- SoFi Stadium — Inglewood, CA
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Atlanta, GA
- Hard Rock Stadium — Miami Gardens, FL (Third-place playoff)
- Levi's Stadium — Santa Clara, CA
- NRG Stadium — Houston, TX
- Lincoln Financial Field — Philadelphia, PA
- Gillette Stadium — Foxborough, MA (Quarterfinal)
- Lumen Field — Seattle, WA
- Arrowhead Stadium — Kansas City, MO (Quarterfinal)
- Estadio Azteca — Mexico City (Opening match)
- Estadio BBVA — Guadalupe (Monterrey)
- Estadio Akron — Guadalajara
- BMO Field — Toronto
- BC Place — Vancouver
Where to watch
| Region | Broadcaster(s) |
|---|---|
| United States | FOX (English) · Telemundo (Spanish) |
| Canada | TSN · RDS (French) |
| Mexico | TUDN · Televisa · TV Azteca |
| United Kingdom | BBC · ITV (shared rights) |
| Australia | Optus Sport |
| Global streaming | FIFA+ (FIFA's official OTT platform — free tier available) |
Playing a free bracket pool
Free knockout bracket pools open once the Round of 32 is set, and most let you re-pick after the group stage finishes — so there's no penalty if you sat out the group-prediction window. Track who has qualified on our group standings and match schedule pages.
With 32 knockout teams instead of the old 16, the standard "pick chalk for round 1" heuristic gets weaker — the third-placed qualifiers will create more upset potential than past 16-team knockouts. For pool strategy across sports, see our tournament bracket challenge guide.
FAQ
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World Cup history & records
Every measurable angle of the sport's biggest tournament. 22 finals, 8 winning nations, 95 years of records.
Klose 16 · R9 15 · Müller 14 · Fontaine 13 · Messi 13 · Mbappé 12 · Pelé 12
All-time titles: Brazil 5, Germany 4, Italy 4, Argentina 3 + confederation breakdown
Every final — host, venue, winner, score, key moment
Best-player award per edition since 1982
Best-goalkeeper award since 1994 (Lev Yashin Award)
Goals, appearances, age, attendance, biggest wins, fastest goals
Pelé, Maradona, Messi, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, R9, Zidane, Mbappé and more
La Hinchada, A Torcida, Red Devils, American Outlaws, Vatreni
Brazil · Argentina · Germany · Italy · France · Uruguay · Spain · England — full era-by-era profiles for every WC-winning nation