2026 FIFA World Cup match schedule: Houston to host 7 games
HOUSTON - Houston will host seven matches in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The World Cup match schedule was announced on Sunday, including host city allocations and the locations of key matches.
The 2026 World Cup’s 104 matches will be held at 16 stadiums across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Mexico will kick off the tournament on June 11, 2026, with the first game of the World Cup being held in Mexico City.
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Canada’s opening match will be played in Toronto on June 12, 2026. The United States opening World Cup match will be in Los Angeles on June 12, 2026.
Houston will host five group stage matches at NRG Stadium on June 14, 17, 20, 23, and 26. Houston will also host a Round of 32 match on June 29 and a Round of 16 match on July 4.
Miami will host the bronze medal final.
The highly anticipated World Cup final on July 19, 2026, will be hosted in New York/New Jersey at MetLife Stadium.
File photo. The World Cup Trophy (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
The host cities are scheduled to host the following matches:
Atlanta: 5 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match, 1 Round of 16 match, 1 Semifinals match
Boston: 5 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match, 1 Quartfinals match
Dallas: 5 group stage matches, 2 Round of 32 matches, 1 Round of 16 match, 1 Semifinals match
Guadalajara: 4 group stage matches
Houston: 5 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match, 1 Round of 16 match
Kansas City: 4 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match, 1 Quartfinals match
Los Angeles: 5 group stage matches, 2 Round of 32 matches, 1 Quartfinals match
Mexico City: 3 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match, 1 Round of 16 match
Miami: 4 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match, 1 Quartfinals match, Bronze medal final
Monterrey: 3 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match
New York/New Jersey: 5 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match, 1 Round of 16 match, Final match
Philadelphia: 5 group stage matches, 1 Round of 16 match
San Francisco Bay Area: 5 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match
Seattle: 4 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match, 1 Round of 16 match
Toronto: 5 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match
Vancouver: 5 group stage matches, 1 Round of 32 match, 1 Round of 16 match
New format for 2026 – and more games
The World Cup group stage format for 2026 was changed to 12 groups of four teams from 16 groups of three teams by FIFA’s Council, increasing the total to 104 matches from 64 in the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
To win a World Cup, a nation will have to play eight games, up from the seven in place since 1974.
The top two teams in each group and the top eight third-place teams will advance to a new round of 32 that starts the knockout phase. Advancement for third-place teams was eliminated for 1998, when the tournament expanded from 24 teams to 32.
The change means there will be 104 matches, double the 52 at the 1994 World Cup in the U.S., up from the 64 at each tournament from 1998 through 2022 and an increase from the 80 under the original 2026 format. That means more content for television broadcasters and more tickets to sell, increasing revenue for FIFA.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.