When and where will the 2026 World Cup take place: place, venues, format, dates
The World Cup 2022 officially begins on Sunday November 20 and ends on Sunday December 18 in Qatar with 64 matches played by 32 nations in 8 stadiums over the course of 29 days.
This year marks the very first time the World Cup has been held in the Middle East. Qatar, which is the smallest country to ever host the event, has high average temperatures in June and July of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which is why FIFA made the decision to host the 22nd edition of the World Cup in the fall. As always, this year’s World Cup marks four years until the next edition of the tournament, which will go down in history with three different nations hosting matches. See below for venue information for the 2022 and 2026 World Cups.
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2022 World Cup venues:
The 2022 World Cup will take place at the following locations:
- Al Bayt Stadium – 22 miles from the center of Doha
- Lusail Stadium – 20 km from the center of Doha
- Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium – 20 km from the center of Doha
- Al Janoub Stadium – 22 km from the center of Doha
- Al Thumama Stadium – 13 km from the center of Doha
- Education City Stadium – 13 km from the center of Doha
- Khalifa International Stadium – 5 km from the center of Doha
- Stadium 974 – 10 km from the center of Doha
Where will the 2026 World Cup take place?
The 2026 World Cup will take place in three North American countries: the United States, Mexico and Canada. This will be the first time the tournament has been hosted by three different nations and it will be the first time the event has ever been played in Canada. A total of 16 venues will be used as host cities for the 2026 World Cup. The United States will have 11, Canada will have 2 and Mexico will have 3.
Additionally, the 2026 World Cup will launch an expanded format with 48 teams – down from 32 – split into 16 groups of 3.
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World Cup 2026 host cities
United States (11)
Atlanta – Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Boston – Gillette Stadium
Dallas – AT&T Stadium
Houston – NRG Stadium
Kansas City – Arrowhead Stadium
Los Angeles – SoFi Stadium
Miami – Hard Rock Stadium
New York/New Jersey – MetLife Stadium
Philadelphia – Lincoln Financial Field
San Francisco – Levi’s Stadium
Seattle–Lumen Field
Canada (2)
Toronto – BMO land
Vancouver–BC Place
Mexico (3)
Guadalajara – Akron Stadium
Mexico City – Estadio Azteca
Monterrey – BBVA Stadium
When is the 2026 World Cup?
The 2026 World Cup is scheduled to take place from June 8 to July 3.
2022 World Cup USA group stage schedule:
- USA v Wales – Monday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. ET
- USA vs England – Friday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. ET
- USA vs Iran – Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. ET
Mexico 2022 World Cup group stage schedule:
- Mexico vs Poland – Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 11 a.m. ET
- Mexico vs Argentina – Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. ET
- Mexico vs Saudi Arabia – Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 2 p.m. ET
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How to watch the 2022 World Cup:
*All times are ET
- When: November 20, 2022 – December 18, 2022
- Group stage match kick-off times: 5 a.m., 8 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
- Location: Qatar
- English TV channel: Fox
- Spanish TV channels: Telemundo, Universe, Peacock
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