The 2026 FIFA World Cup opens on June 11 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City and ends on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Thirty-nine days total.
Group stage: June 11 to July 2. Round of 32: July 4 to 7. Round of 16: July 8 to 11. Quarter-finals: July 12 and 13. Semi-finals: July 15 and 16. Third-place play-off: July 18. Final: July 19.
The round of 32 is new to the World Cup. Previous tournaments went from the group stage directly into a round of 16. The extra round exists because there are now 48 teams instead of 32. A team that makes it from the group stage to the final plays seven matches total, which is the same number as before the expansion. The larger field does not mean a longer path.
Mexico's opening group stage match on June 11 comes after the opening ceremony at the Azteca. Putting the ceremony there rather than at one of the American venues made sense. The Azteca has more football history behind it than MetLife or any of the other US stadiums in this tournament.
MetLife holds around 82,000 people and is the home ground of both the New York Giants and the Jets. FIFA confirmed it as the final venue in 2021. It is the largest stadium in the competition and the only one without a roof. July in New Jersey tends to be warm and humid, and this has not come up much in FIFA's communications about the event.
Euro 2024 in Germany ran 31 days with 24 teams and 51 matches. This one is 39 days, 48 teams, 104 matches. The schedule is compressed.