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(Courtesy of FIFA)<\/p>\nFIFA has revealed the full schedule for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and Philly now knows which teams will be coming for the five group stage games at Lincoln Financial Field next summer.<\/p>\n
Group stage (all times are ET)<\/p>\n
June 14 at 7 p.m: Group E \u2013 C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire vs Ecuador<\/p>\n
June 19 at 9 p.m: Group C \u2013 Brazil vs Haiti<\/p>\n
June 22 at 5 p.m: Group I \u2013 France vs Iraq\/Bolivia\/Suriname<\/p>\n
June 25 at 4 p.m: Group E \u2013 Curacao vs C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire<\/p>\n
June 27 at 5 p.m. Group L \u2013 Croatia vs. Ghana<\/p>\n
Round of 16<\/p>\n
July 4, 5 p.m.: Winner of Match 74 in Boston vs. Winner of Match 77 in New York\/New Jersey<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how the full tournament schedule looks. It\u2019s also worth looking at the games at Boston\u2019s Gillette Stadium and East Rutherford\u2019s Metlife, given the close proximity:<\/p>\n
(Courtesy of FIFA)<\/p>\n
The Linc \u2014 which will go by \u201cPhiladelphia Stadium\u201d for the tournament, due to FIFA\u2019s sponsorship rules \u2014 will host two previous World Cup winners in Brazil and France, who have won the tournament five and two times, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are excited because these are, first off, incredibly storied, powerhouse teams,\u201d said Philadelphia Soccer 2026\u2019s host city executive Meg Kane. \u201cThe opportunity of [France team member and Real Madrid superstar forward] Kylian Mbappe playing in the World Cup in Philadelphia is extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n
France\u2019s opponent will be decided with a qualification playoff series in March<\/a>, where the winner between Bolivia and Suriname will face Iraq for a spot in the tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brazil has won the World Cup the most times, and Philly already received a sample of what the country\u2019s fan base is like during last summer\u2019s FIFA Club World Cup<\/a>, which had four Brazilian clubs playing in South Philly. Much of the fan bases of those teams travelled in from various parts of the Northeast U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cWe loved Brazilian fans [this] year,\u201d Kane said \u201cTheir energy and enthusiasm, and the way that they just embraced the city, was something that was so exciting. whether they were Flamengo or Botafogo or Palmeiras, it was such a unique experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Their opponents will be Haiti, which should come as welcome news to fans of Philadelphia Union midfielder Danley Jean Jacques and members of the Haitian community in the city. Mount Airy resident Steve Jules was born in Haiti, and attended Friday\u2019s watch party for the draw at Stateside Live!<\/a> He said watching Haiti in the World Cup \u2014 which the nation hasn\u2019t experienced since the team last qualified in 1974 \u2014 would fulfill a lifelong dream.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to see soccer in Philadelphia, and to see we have such a ravenous, hungry scene willing to support and show the love of soccer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Haiti and Iran are both currently under a full travel ban by the Trump administration<\/a>. How that will line up with FIFA and the administration\u2019s initiative to prioritize U.S. visa appointments<\/a> for World Cup ticket holders is murky.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, we can only control what we can control, and we cannot necessarily control what is happening at the federal level,\u201d Kane said. \u201cPhiladelphia Soccer 2026 will absolutely be prepared, though, to welcome any and all fans from Haiti, or any and all fans from across the United States of Haitian descent that want to come and celebrate their team coming back to the World Cup for the first time in a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are a welcoming city. We are a World Heritage City, and it is our absolute pleasure to welcome anyone from any country, anywhere, to come celebrate with us,\u201d city representative Jazelle Jones added.<\/p>\n C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, Croatia, Ecuador and Ghana should bring a strong combination of World Cup pedigree and local presence as well, with a combined 20 World Cup appearances between them.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cura\u00e7ao, the smallest nation to ever play at the World Cup, brings a Cinderella storyline to the tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for the July 4 game \u2014 we\u2019ll get into the chances of the U.S. playing here in a bit, hold on \u2014 Kane says that the dream scenario would be France returning to face four-time champion Germany, which also checks the \u201cstrong local presence\u201d box for Philly.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you could have two powerhouses that are playing on July Fourth, it would be spectacular \u2026 and a great way for us to really lead into the Welcome America celebration on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway that evening.\u201d Kane said.<\/p>\n There are a couple scenarios that could put the U.S. team in Philly for the July 4 game, but they are ones that Kane, the host committee and American soccer fans would prefer not happen.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was only one path for the U.S men\u2019s national team to reach Philadelphia: They have to finish third in their group,\u201d Kane said. \u201cWe would like that to not happen, we\u2019d like the U.S men\u2019s national team to finish first in their group.\u201d<\/p>\n The USMNT will first face Paraguay, a team they beat, 2-1, in a \u201cfriendly\u201d at Chester\u2019s Subaru Park last month<\/a>, on Friday, June 12, in Los Angeles. They next face Australia, who they defeated in October<\/a>, in Seattle on June 19. Lastly, it\u2019s a June 25 match back in LA against the winner of UEFA Playoff C \u2014 either Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia or Turkey. Turkey is the highest ranked of all potential opponents and beat the U.S. in June<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the risk of courting overconfidence, It\u2019s a very favorable draw for the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we could have really asked for a better draw,\u201d said Nick Custodio, vice president of the Philly chapter of the U.S. supporters\u2019 group, the American Outlaws<\/a>. \u201cWe avoided some of the trap games in there, like Norway or Italy. So I think we\u2019re very solid.\u201d<\/p>\n National team and Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams said he\u2019s taking no opponent for granted, though.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no easy game in the World Cup. In fact, I think some of the hardest games in the last World Cup were against lesser opponents.\u201d he said. \u201cFor us, moving forward, we need to prepare in the right way. But it\u2019s fun knowing that we\u2019ve played some of these opponents before.\u201d<\/p>\n Without having to play qualifiers for the tournament, because they are co-hosting it, coach Mauricio Pochettino and his team have had to instill a sense of competition and edginess to keep them from getting complacent playing exhibition games. Part of that has come from playing teams like Paraguay, Turkey and Uruguay<\/a>, who never really play with an exhibition mindset.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were friendlies, while also they weren\u2019t very friendly,\u201d said Charlotte FC defender Tim Ream, one of the national team\u2019s veteran players. \u201cAnd now you add in the heightened aggression and experience of a World Cup, and they\u2019re all finals, they all mean something now. Everything is going to be ramped up exponentially\u201d<\/p>\n \t