Fifa world cup 2026: A record 48 teams, 104 matches, and three host nations — the largest World Cup in history begins today
The wait is finally over. The FIFA World Cup 2026 — the biggest and most expansive edition of football’s greatest tournament — officially kicked off today, Thursday June 11, with the world’s eyes fixed on North America for a celebration of sport, culture, and national pride that will run through to July 19.
The tournament spans three host countries — Canada, Mexico, and the United States — with the opening match taking place at 3 p.m. ET between Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City. The venue is the iconic Estadio Azteca, the first of 104 matches in this landmark expanded edition of the World Cup.
The opening ceremony at Mexico City Stadium began at 11am local time and featured a celebration of Mexican and Latin music. Colombian superstar Shakira and Nigerian singer Burna Boy headlined the ceremony, performing alongside J Balvin and Alejandro Fernández before the first ball was kicked.
The scale of this tournament is unprecedented. Between 1998 and 2022, there were 64 games in the tournament. This year, it expanded to 104 matches, with 48 teams competing compared to the usual 32. The global event will run from the opening match in Mexico on Thursday to the final on Sunday, July 19, in New York.
The expanded format has opened the door to new footballing nations. Uzbekistan, Jordan, Cape Verde, and Curaçao will be competing at the World Cup for the first time. Of those, Curaçao — a Caribbean island with a population of just 156,000 — is the smallest country by population to ever qualify for the tournament. Meanwhile, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo are returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1974.
Canada will host the competition for the first time, joining Mexico and the United States to stage matches across 16 host cities. The final will be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Shakira is also scheduled to co-headline the halftime show alongside Madonna and K-pop band BTS.
Authorities declared June 11 a public holiday in Mexico City, with schools closed and employers encouraged to allow remote work, as fans flooded the streets ahead of kick-off.
For Pakistan and the broader South Asian region, the tournament will be available across various broadcast platforms, with billions worldwide expected to tune in across the coming six weeks. As Group A gets underway today in Mexico, the race for football’s most coveted prize has officially begun — and for the next 38 days, the world belongs to the beautiful game.
Tribune GB