2026 World Cup Round of 32 bracket set, matchups and schedule

The 2026 World Cup added a Round of 32 to the knockout path, pushing 32 of the tournament’s 48 teams into a new stage before the familiar Round of 16. FIFA’s expanded format turned the group phase into a race for 12 group wins, 12 second-place finishes and eight third-place spots.

The field came from 12 groups of four, with each team playing three matches and earning three points for a win and one for a draw. Tiebreakers decided the order when teams finished level on points, which mattered because only the top two in each group advanced automatically and the eight best third-place teams filled the rest of the bracket.

The tournament ran across 104 matches from June 11 to July 19, 2026, in 16 host cities across Canada, Mexico and the United States. The final was set for New York/New Jersey Stadium on July 19, and the Round of 32 fed directly into the Round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals on the road there.

FIFA confirmed final squad lists on June 2, 2026, for a record 1,248 players from 48 nations.