Hosts Mexico will open the biggest-ever edition of the World Cup on 11 June 2026 with the first of 104 matches which will be staged in 16 locations across three countries, according to the official website of FIFA.
Estadio Azteca Mexico City has been confirmed as the venue for the opening fixture of the FIFA World Cup 26™ on Thursday, 11 June 2026, becoming the first stadium to host three FIFA World Cup™ opening matches.
The full match schedule for the biggest-ever FIFA World Cup has now been unveiled, giving the framework for the 104-game tournament featuring 48 teams across 16 host cities in three countries – Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Hosts Mexico will have the honour of getting the tournament under way in their capital city, kicking off proceedings in the historic venue which hosted the World Cup finals and opening games of 1970 and 1986.
Mexico will play all three of their group fixtures on home soil, with Estadio Guadalajara hosting their second game on Thursday, 18 June before a return to Estadio Azteca on Wednesday, 24 June for their final group match.
A true coliseum of world football and the first to host a third FIFA World Cup, Estadio Azteca Mexico City - which welcomed the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona across two pulsating World Cup finals in 1970 and 1986 - will once again take centre stage.
The arena's day job is to host both Club America and Cruz Azul of Liga MX as well as the Mexico national team, while Pumas, Atlante, Atletico Espanyol and Necaxa have all previously played their football here.
Estadio Azteca Mexico City was the venue for the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup™ in 2011, when a capacity crowd of 98,943 set the record for the number of supporters at any game in the history of the prestigious youth tournament.
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