World Cup 2026 Format Info, Group-Stage Points, Elimination Rules and Prize Money
The 2026 World Cup has arrived. Mexico and South Africa will kick off the tournament on Thursday afternoon following Mexico's opening ceremony.
Canada will face Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday afternoon following its opening ceremony, while the United States will have its opening ceremony and opening match against Paraguay on Friday evening. From there, the group stage will be in full swing.
Of course, the group stage is just part of the expanded 48-team World Cup. The tournament will feature a bigger field, a longer knockout stage, and more prize money than ever before.
Here's a quick look at everything you need to know.
2026 FIFA World Cup
1 of 4
Dates: June 11 - July 19
Knockout Round Start Date: June 28
Final Date: July 19
Field: 48 Teams
Host Countries: Canada, Mexico, United States
Opening Match: Mexico vs. South Africa
Opening Match Start Time: 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 11
TV: Fox Sports, Telemundo, TSN, TelevisaUnivision, and Azteca TV.
Live Stream: Fox One
*Complete World Cup schedule can be found here.
Format Information
2 of 4
After operating with a 32-team field from 1998 to 2022, FIFA has decided to expand the World Cup to 48 teams for 2026. The new format was initially set to have 16 groups of three but was revised to include 12 groups of four.
"The revised format mitigates the risk of collusion and ensures that all the teams play a minimum of three matches, while providing balanced rest time between competing teams," the FIFA statement read.
Under the revised format, the top two teams from each group will automatically advance to the knockout stage. The eight top-ranked third-place teams will also advance, creating an opening knockout round of 32.
Once the knockout stage begins, all matches will be single elimination, with winners advancing to the next round. All matchups for the round of 32 will feature predetermined matchups based on group finishing.
The first match of the knockout stage, for example, will be the Group A runners-up against the Group B runners-up. For those interested, the full schedule can be found at FIFA.com.
The 2026 format also features pre-tournament seeding for the top teams in the FIFA world rankings at the time of the group draw. This means that the No. 1 seed, Spain, can't possibly face the No. 2 seed, Argentina, unless they meet in the final.
Group Points and Elimination Rules
3 of 4
During the group stage, each team will play a round-robin schedule against the other nations in its group. This means that in Group A, for example, Mexico will play one game each against South Africa, South Korea, and Czechia.
After each team has played its three group-stage games, the groups will be ranked with the qualifying teams advancing. Rankings will be based on a point system with three points being awarded for a victory, one point being awarded for a draw, and no points being awarded for a match loss.
If teams are tied in the group standings, tiebreakers such as goal differential, goals scored, and head-to-head results will be used.
After the 16 teams that didn't qualify for the knockout stage depart, all games will be win-or-go-home. There will be no ties, with 30 minutes of extra time being used if necessary, and penalty kicks used if a game is still tied after the overtime.
Teams that are eliminated in any round of the knockout stage are eliminated from the tournament, while winners will advance to the next round. Only 16 teams will advance to the second round, eight teams to the quarterfinals, four to the semis, and two to the World Cup Final.
Like past World Cups, the tournament will feature a third-place game between the two semifinal losers, slated to take place on July 18.
Prize Money
4 of 4
FIFA announced last December that the 2026 World Cup would feature a record amount of compensation. Each team was awarded $1.5 million to help with tournament preparation, and another $655 million was allocated for the prize pool.
Every team playing in the tournament will receive a base prize of $9 million, while the winning team will receive $50 million. The full breakdown is as follows:
Winner: $50 million
Runner-Up: $33 million
3rd Place: $29 million
4th Place: $27 million
Quarterfinals: $19 million
Round of 16: $15 million
Round of 32: $11 million
Group Stage: $9 million
