The play-off participants and the opening pair for the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup have been decided
The group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is being held in the USA, Mexico and Canada, is currently underway. It will run until 28 June, after which the 32 teams that will progress to the knockout stages will be decided.
As of 25 June, 13 teams have already secured their places in the round of 16. The teams that have qualified for the knockout stages are Mexico, the USA, Germany, Argentina, France, Norway, Colombia, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, Morocco, South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina have all qualified for the knockout stages.
The first play-off pairing has also been decided. In the round of 32, South Africa will face Canada.
The South Africa v Canada match will take place on 28 June at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
The next day of group stage matches will feature teams from Groups D, E and F. The day’s fixtures include Turkey v USA, Paraguay v Australia, Curaçao v Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador v Germany, Japan v Sweden and Tunisia v the Netherlands.
The 2026 World Cup will run until 19 July. The tournament final will take place in East Rutherford, a suburb of New York.
The 2026 World Cup is the first in history to feature 48 national teams. All teams have been divided into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group, as well as the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to the round of 16.
