1 of 5 | Argentina’s Lionel Messi is set to participate in a record sixth World Cup. File Photo by Chris Brunskill/UPI | License Photo
A record 48-team field, complex logistics and the likely farewells of soccer icons are among key storylines for the 2026 World Cup, which starts Thursday.
Tournament coverage will air through July 19 on Fox, FS1, Telemundo and Universo and stream on the Fox Sports App and Fox One. A full schedule of tournament openers is listed below.
Spain is favored to win the title. France, England, Portugal, Brazil and reigning champion Argentina are among the other Top 5 expected contenders. The United States is outside of the Top 10 World Cup favorites.
“This group deserves everything that’s happening to us,” Argentina’s Lionel Messi told reporters Tuesday. “We’re going to give it our all, just as we always have. Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind that we’ll give it our all, just as we all did and just as we’ve been doing all this time. Just as we always did whenever I was part of the national team.
“Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t, but we’ve been fortunate enough to have positive results in recent years.
“It’s difficult, and it’s getting harder all the time, but we’ve got used to that and we’ve got the fans used to it, and we’re going to try to do it again. Whether it works out or not, that’s football. Have no doubt that our opponents will find it hard to beat us because this is a very competitive national team.”
Logistical demands
Mexico will host South Africa in the tournament opener at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday in Mexico City. The meeting, which will air on Fox, will be the first of 104 matches played over 39 days in the United States, Canada and Mexico in the first edition of the tournament to be held across three separate countries.
A total of 16 stadiums will be used for the tournament, which features 16 fewer teams over its previous seven editions.
Nearly 3,000 miles separate two tournament stadiums — in Vancouver and Mexico City. Canada and the United States will travel about 2,000 miles each during the group stage, while co-host Mexico will navigate just 580 miles for its first three matches.
England’s 1,721 travel miles in the group stage are the most among the Top-5 favorites. France (334) and Argentina (461) have the fewest travel miles among expected contenders. Bosnia and Herzegovina will navigate a tournament-high 3,144 miles during the group stage.
The 2026 World Cup teams will travel an average of 5,167 miles during the group stage, compared to just 86 from the 2022 tournament held in Qatar. Recovery, fueling, sleep, flight delays and climate acclimation are among some of the challenges the record 1,248 players could face in this year’s tournament.
Some of those players are more known than others when it comes to soccer fandom in the United States.
Iconic players, farewells
Joining Messi at the 2026 World Cup will be Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa. By checking in at the tournament, they each will set records by appearing in their sixth World Cup.
Ronaldo is the only player in history to score in five editions of the tournament. Messi’s 26 appearances are the most in World Cup history. His 13 goals, the most among active players, are just three behind German Miroslav Klose’s record 16.
Ronaldo’s eight scores are tied for 26th.
Messi, who will turn 39 years old June 24, previously said that the 2022 tournament was his last. Since then, he has said that the 2026 edition would likely be his World Cup farewell tour. Ronaldo said last year that the 2026 World Cup would “definitely” be his last. The 41-year-old is still looking for his first title.
Ochoa, who will turn 41 on July 13, plans to retire after the tournament. Croatia’s Luka Modric (40), Germany’s Manuel Neuer (40), Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne (34), Brazil’s Neymar Jr. (34), Senegal’s Sadio Mane (34), Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk (34) and Egypt’s Mo Salah (33) are among the other star players nearing the end of their international careers.
While none of those players faces obvious off-the-field challenges en route to the World Cup pitch, some teams entered battles before kicking off.
Disrupted preparation
An Ebola outbreak has hindered the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s preparation for the tournament. The African nation qualified for the tournament for the first time in 52 years.
As of Saturday, there were 515 confirmed Ebola cases in the country. The United States requires non-citizens who have been in the DR Congo, Uganda or South Sudan to spend 21 days outside those countries and be symptom-free before entering.
The DR Congo moved its training camp to Belgium and practiced inside a bubble. The team also played a pre-tournament friendly in France after the match was moved from Spain due to public health concerns from local authorities.
DR Congo players are due to arrive this week in Houston. They will face Ronaldo and Portugal in their opener Wednesday at Houston Stadium.
Tensions persists between the United States and Iran, which said it launched “retaliatory” attacks Wednesday against the host country’s bases in the Middle East after U.S. strikes in southern Iran. Iran was initially set to hold its World Cup base camp in Tucson, Ariz., but moved to Tijuana, Mexico.
The Iranians arrived Sunday at their base camp. Players and some of the coaching staff members received visas to travel for three group stage games played in the United States, while others did not receive approval.
The Iranians could face the Americans in the round of 32 on July 3 in Arlington, Texas, if both teams finish second in their respective groups.
The Americans will kick off their campaign against Paraguay on Friday in Inglewood, Calif. Iran will take on New Zealand in a Group G opener three days later on the same field at Los Angeles Stadium.
Other notable openers fill feature Argentina, France, Brazil and England.
Notable openers, players
Messi and the Argentines will start their title defense against Algeria on Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo. A younger wave of elite performers also will take the stage.
Lamine Yamal, whom Fox rated as the top player of the tournament, could make his World Cup debut when the Spaniards face Cape Verde in their tournament opener Monday in Atlanta.
Yamal, 18, is among several soccer stars dealing with injuries ahead of the World Cup. He is recovering from groin and hamstring issues, but is expected to be available.
France’s Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise, England’s Harry Kane, Norway’s Erling Haaland, Brazil’s Vinicius Junior and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi are among other star players who will appear in the tournament.
No. 12 Italy, No. 21 Denmark and No. 26 Nigeria are the only teams within the Top 30 of FIFA world rankings who will not participate in the World Cup.
Vinicius and No. 6 Brazil will take on Hakimi and No. 7 Morocco in the first match of the World Cup played between two Top 10 teams. That Group C battle will kick off Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J.
No. 27 Australia will take on No. 22 Turkey in a Group D match Sunday in Vancouver. The No. 8 Netherlands will play No. 18 Japan on Sunday in Arlington.
Mbappe and No. 2 France will meet No. 15 Senegal on Tuesday in East Rutherford. Haaland and No. 31 Norway will take on No. 57 Iraq the same day in Foxborough, Mass.
Kane and No. 4 England will face No. 11 Croatia in a Group L opener Wednesday in Arlington.
Fans continue to look at sky-high ticket prices for the tournament, with the least expensive group-stage ticket prices ranging from about $160 to more than $3,000. The least expensive ticket for the finale is more than $7,600.
World Cup openers
(All times EDT)
Thursday
Mexico vs. South Africa at 3 p.m. on Fox
South Korea vs. Czechia at 10 p.m. on FS1
Friday
Canada vs. Bosnia-Herzgovina at 3 p.m. on Fox
USA vs. Paraguay at 9 p.m. on Fox
Saturday
Qatar vs. Switzerland at 3 p.m. on Fox
Brazil vs. Morocco at 6 p.m. on Fox
Haiti vs. Scotland at 9 p.m. on Fox
Sunday
Australia vs. Turkey at midnight on FS1
Germany vs. Curacao at 1 p.m. on Fox
Netherlands vs. Japan at 4 p.m. on Fox
Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador at 7 p.m. on FS1
Sweden vs. Tunisia at 10 p.m. on FS1
Monday
Spain vs. Cape Verde at noon on Fox
Belgium vs. Egypt at 3 p.m. on Fox
Saudi Arabia vs. Uruguay at 6 p.m. on FS1
Iran vs. New Zealand at 9 p.m. on FS1
Tuesday
France vs. Senegal at 3 p.m. on Fox
Iraq vs. Norway at 6 p.m. on Fox
Argentina vs. Algeria at 9 p.m. on Fox
Wednesday
Austria vs. Jordan at midnight on FS1
Portugal vs. Congo DR at 1 p.m. on Fox
England vs. Croatia at 4 p.m. on Fox
Ghana vs. Panama at 7 p.m. on FS1
Uzbekistan vs. Colombia at 10 p.m. on FS1
MetLife Stadium prepares for FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup signs hang in the interior of MetLife Stadium before it is set to host eight matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in East Rutherford, N.J,. on May 28, 2026. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
