{"id":697731,"date":"2026-06-11T13:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/697731\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T13:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T13:02:08","slug":"2026-fifa-world-cup-begins-what-to-know-about-the-biggest-tournament-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/697731\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 FIFA World Cup begins: What to know about the biggest tournament ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

(TNND) \u2014 After years of preparation, the biggest FIFA World Cup<\/a> ever is finally here.<\/p>\n

The 2026 tournament, hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico, expands from 32 to 48 teams. A record 104 matches will be played across 16 stadiums during the 39-day event.<\/p>\n

The tournament kicks off Thursday in Mexico, where the host nation opens Group A play against South Africa at Mexico City’s iconic Estadio Azteca. South Korea and the Czech Republic will meet later in the day in Guadalajara.<\/p>\n

Canada and the United States begin their World Cup campaigns Friday. Canada faces Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto, while the U.S. takes on Paraguay in Inglewood, California.<\/p>\n

How to Watch<\/p>\n

Fox is the exclusive English-language broadcaster in the U.S., with all 104 matches airing on FOX or FS1 and streaming on the Fox One app. Spanish-language coverage will be available on Telemundo and Universo, with streaming on Peacock and the Telemundo app.<\/p>\n

Opening Day Schedule (June 11)Opening Ceremony \u2014 1:30 p.m. ET, Mexico City (FOX, Telemundo, Peacock)Mexico vs. South Africa \u2014 3 p.m. ET, Mexico City (FOX, Telemundo, Peacock)South Korea vs. Czech Republic \u2014 10 p.m. ET, Guadalajara (FS1, Telemundo, Peacock)Storylines to Watch<\/p>\n

Mexico looks to make the most of home-field advantage<\/p>\n

Mexico enters its opener as a heavy favorite against South Africa. El Tri hopes to rebound from a disappointing 2022 World Cup, when it failed to advance from the group stage for the first time since 1978. Veteran striker Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez and 17-year-old midfielder Gilberto Mora lead the squad, while goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is set to make a record sixth World Cup appearance.<\/p>\n

Altitude could play a major role<\/p>\n

Teams playing in Mexico will have to adjust to some of the highest-elevation venues in the tournament. Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca sits at roughly 7,300 feet above sea level, while Guadalajara is more than 5,100 feet above sea level.<\/p>\n

South Korea aims to build on recent success<\/p>\n

South Korea has qualified for 11 consecutive World Cups dating back to 1986 and reached the Round of 16 in 2022. Captain Son Heung-min, 33, could be making his final World Cup appearance. The Czech Republic returns to the tournament for the first time in 20 years.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices remain a hot topic<\/p>\n

The tournament is already facing criticism over ticket costs<\/a>. Some seats for the July 19 final are selling for nearly $33,000. Attorneys general in New York and New Jersey have launched an investigation into FIFA’s ticketing practices following complaints from fans about pricing and sales tactics.<\/p>\n

FIFA president Gianni Infantino downplayed fans’ frustration about being priced out.<\/p>\n

“You know, they are not angry when they have to watch other sports in the U.S., of which the prices are actually much higher than the World Cup prices,” Infantino told CNBC.<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(TNND) \u2014 After years of preparation, the biggest FIFA World Cup ever is finally here. The 2026 tournament,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-697731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=697731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/697731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=697731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=697731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=697731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}