The 2026 FIFA World Cup is getting closer, and is already shaping up to be one of the biggest sporting events ever. Hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the tournament will be the first World Cup shared by three countries and the first to feature 48 teams instead of 32. The tournament will begin on June 11, and the final will take place on July 19 in the New York and New Jersey area.

The World Cup will host over 104 matches between every team that qualifies across 16 cities in North America. Major cities like Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Mexico City, Toronto, and Vancouver will all host matches in the tournament, with the competitions set to be played at MetLife Stadium.

The Defending World Cup Champion Argentina enters the tournament as one of the favorites after winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar against France. Most of the attention will be on whether Argentine player Lionel Messi will play in what could be his last appearance. Messi has not officially confirmed or said this will be his last World Cup, but Argentina’s manager Lionel Scaloni has remained hopeful, saying “I think Messi could make it to the next World Cup for us.”

Argentina was selected to face off against Algeria first in this year’s World Cup. In 2022, Argentina lost their first game 2-1 against Saudi Arabia, but came right back to defeat Mexico and Poland both 2-0. In the knockout rounds, they defeated Australia, Netherlands, and Croatia before facing France in the World Cup Final. The match ended 3-3, and Argentina won on penalties

 Argentina has continued to win, beating Brazil 4-1 and taking a 3-0 win over Venezuela, finishing at the top of their qualifying group.

Brazil will be stepping into the tournament with high expectations as well. Brazil is still searching for their country’s sixth World Cup victory since 2002, and will rely on their star-forward Vinicius Jr. and talented young core in an attempt to try to bring home the World Cup trophy

The 2026 FIFA World Cup (June 11 – July 19) will be broadcast in the US by Fox Sports in English, and Telemundo in Spanish, featuring 104 matches across Fox, FS1, Telemundo, and Universo. Streaming will be available on the Fox Sports app, on Fox One, and the Telemundo app, with select coverage on Tubi and YouTube.