World Cup tournaments are outrageous and insane, and there’s always one on the horizon, regardless of the sport. As keen supporters of my idiotic account would know, my love for rugby and the Rugby World Cup is legendary. However, that blog post is for next year, so instead, I’ll go on to discuss another World Cup that I love, the OG: The FIFA World Cup.

Far better journalists and pundits have already written about the largest single-sport tournament, this side of the Asteroid Belt; however, it’s my turn to have a crack at it. This foolish guide to the beautiful game’s ultimate prize is just that: a guide. I’m excited for the tournament, along with UMC1 and UMC2, but as my wife…well, not so much.

So, without further waiting for the paint in the outdoor toilet to dry, let’s get on with the breakdown of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Hook it straight into my veins!

---

---

On 11th June 2026, the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup will start, and it will finish with the final on the 19th July.

Hosts:

This is the first time the World Cup will be co-hosted by three countries: Canada, the United States of America, and Mexico. However, the World Cup has already been co-hosted by two countries before, South Korea and Japan, in 2002. Coincidentally, this is Mexico’s third hosting role, having already done it in 1970 and 1986; with the United States’ second time as host, having done it in 1994; while this is Canada’s first time.

It’s also the first time the format has been expanded to 48 teams and 12 pool groups, up from 32 teams and 8 pool groups in 2022. This means there will be an additional round where some third-placed teams from their pool can also qualify for the next round. I’m very interested to see how that plays out.

Between the three countries, 104 matches will be played, covering 16 cities and venues. I have also discovered that many stadiums will change their names during the tournament, due to various FIFA policies and regulations, so they may have alternative names.

In Canada we have:

• Vancouver: BC Place is a multi-sport venue that can seat 54,500 people. It’s also home to the Vancouver Whitecaps. BC Place will host seven matches: five pool stage matches and two knock-out matches.
• Toronto: BMO Field is home to Toronto FC and is another multi-sport venue. It can hold 45,000 people and will host five pool stage matches and one knock-out match.

For the United States we have:

• Dallas: AT&T Stadium seats 94,000 people and is home to the Dallas Cowboys (NFL), along with other events. It will host nine games, which include five pool stage games, three knock-out games, and a semi-final.
• East Rutherford: This is a weird one for me, because MetLife Stadium is in New Jersey, but it’s the home to both the New York Giants and New York Jets. MetLife Stadium can hold 82,500 fans, and will host five pool stage games, two knock-out games, and the final.
• Atlanta: Known as the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it is a multi-sport venue, home to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. This stadium will host five pool stage games, two knock-out games, and a semi-final. The stadium’s capacity is 75,000.
• Kansas City: Arrowhead Stadium seats 73,000 spectators and is home to the Kansas City Chiefs (NFL). It will host six matches, covering four pool stage games, a knock-out match and a quarter-final.
• Houston: NRG Stadium is home to the Houston Texans (NFL) and has a capacity of 72,000. NRG Stadium will host five pool stage games and two knock-out games.
• Santa Clara: Levi’s Stadium can seat 71,000 fans, and is home to the San Francisco 49ers (NFL). It will host five pool stage matches and one knock-out match.
• Los Angeles: We will remain in California, as we have SoFi Stadium, which is the dual home to the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. It can hold 70,000 people and will host five pool stage games, two knock-out games, and a quarter-final.
• Philadelphia: Lincoln Financial Field is the home field of the Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) and can seat 69,000 people. Lincoln Financial Field will host five pool stage matches and one knock-out match.
• Seattle: Lumen Field can hold 69,000 fans and is home to the Seattle Seahawks (NFL) and Seattle Sounders FC. It will host four pool stage games, one knock-out game, and one quarter-final.
• Boston: Gillette Stadium is a multi-sport venue and home to the New England Patriots (NFL) and New England Revolution FC. It’s going to host five pool stage games, one knock-out game, and one quarter-final.
• Miami: For the last stadium in the United States, we have Hard Rock Stadium. It is the home field of the Miami Dolphins (NFL) and seats 65,000 spectators. Hard Rock Stadium will host four pool stage matches, one knock-out match, one quarter-final, and the bronze medal match.

For Mexico we have:

• Mexico City: Estadio Azteca is a famous football stadium, having hosted the 1970 and 1986 World Cup Finals, as well as being the venue where Diego Maradona scored two famous goals in the quarter-final against England at the 1986 tournament. Estadio Azteca can seat 83,000 people, and will host the opening pool stage match, along with two more pool stage matches, and two knock-out matches.
• Monterrey: Estadio BBVA is home to CF Monterrey and can hold 53,500 fans. Estadio BBVA will also feature three pool stage matches and one knock-out match.
• Guadalajara: Estadio Akron is our final venue, and it is CD Guadalajara’s home ground. Estadio Akron can seat 48,000 people, and will also host four pool stage matches.

Teams

Like I said earlier, this is the first time there are 48 teams, across 12 groups. The draw looks like this:

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, Korea Republic (South Korea), and Czechia (Czech Republic).

Group B: Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, and Switzerland.

Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland.

Group D: United States of America, Paraguay, Australia, and Türkiye.

Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), and Ecuador.

Group F: The Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia.

Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand (YES!!!)

Group H: Spain, Cabo Verde, Saudi Arabia, and Uruguay.

Group I: France, Senegal, Iraq, and Norway.

Group J: Argentina (defending world champions), Algeria, Austria, and Jordan.

Group K: Portugal, Congo DR, Uzbekistan, and Colombia.

Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, and Panama.

Since the first tournament in 1930, I believe about 80 countries have tried to win the World Cup, but only eight have done it:

Brazil: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002.

Germany: 1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014.

Italy: 1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006.

Argentina: 1978, 1986, and 2022.

Uruguay: 1930 and 1950.

France: 1998 and 2018.

England: 1966

Spain: 2010

You may have noticed that the winners have only come from Europe, which is represented by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), and South America, which is represented by CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation). No team from North America, Asia, Africa, or Oceania have won the World Cup. The Women’s FIFA World Cup is another matter entirely.

Sadly, no Antarctic team has ever qualified for the World Cup. Tensions between penguins and seals have stood in their way. If they can overcome their prejudices, humans would never stand a chance.

Sorry, what’s that? Why should I care about the FIFA World Cup?

Easy. I’ve played many sports in my life, team sports and as an individual. Rugby League was the first team sport I ever played, and I still have a soft spot for it. I played Rugby, or Rugby Union to be accurate, for only a few years, but living where I am, it’s the biggest sport I support. However, football is the only team sport I’ve ever excelled at; I played for 25 years. I love football.

Now here’s something I haven’t shared with you before: when my birthday is. Well, it’s in June.

There are a few reasons why I enjoy having a birthday on a cold, damp, and often gloomy day in winter. One reason is that it marks the start of the All Blacks’ season. Additionally, every four years, I get to celebrate my birthday while watching World Cup games. Although there are rest days during the tournament, this year, there are several games scheduled on my birthday, and I’m stoked about it!

I love World Cups because I get to analyse the pools, predict which teams will move on, and guess who they would face next. This also means reading articles and news updates about the squads, and religiously checking draws, results, and table standings; along with previewing the games and deciding which pool games I want to see live, versus watching the highlights of games. This leads us to some key points about the World Cup: television coverage.

Because New Zealand is close to the International Date Line, we are around 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, depending on Daylight Saving Time. Being a sports fan in New Zealand means watching live sports outside the country often requires significant commitment, whether that’s staying up late or getting up at stupid o’clock.

Over the years, Football and Rugby World Cups would have been available to watch for free on public television, but the rise of streaming services and pay-for-view TV stations has altered the way we watch sport. For the 2026 FIFA World Cup, I think there are three different ways to watch it in New Zealand. If you can afford it, you can watch the games through Sky TV or TVNZ (Television New Zealand) for a fee.

However, because New Zealand has skin in the game this tournament, the first time since 2010, all of the New Zealand games are free to watch, along with a few random pool games, knock-out games, and one semi-final on TVNZ. The final is always free to air. I would love to watch as many matches as I can, but the prices for viewership are getting worse, so I don’t know. I saw my first World Cup Final when I was nine years old, and I have never missed one since.

But the silver lining is the highlights. Before the rise of the internet, especially YouTube, you needed to watch a special World Cup TV show, with a presenter who would introduce the day’s games and give you the highlights of the day. If there were three games on that day, then you would get three games’ worth of highlights. It would usually screen about 5 pm, depending on the time zone differences. Sometimes, it was about 10 pm, which made my parents very happy that their son was up watching the World Cup on a school night.

YouTube has all but eliminated these highlight shows, at least in New Zealand. I now make it a point to watch the highlights of every single World Cup game on YouTube, even if I don’t know the result of the game. Though to be fair, if I knew a game ended in a 0-0 all draw, I’d skip it sometimes. I’ll played in 0-0 draws, and they are painful.

Being married has also altered my World Cup experiences, which cover rugby and football. Getting ready for the World Cup as a supporter always means I need to prepare my wife. This will be my wife’s fourth FIFA World Cup with me, not counting men’s and women’s rugby, rugby league, and cricket World Cups or the Women’s FIFA World Cup.

Last week, I was talking to her about the first round of matches, and she mentioned that she couldn’t name a single international football player who is currently still playing. After a 15-minute discussion, I discovered she wasn’t lying. How does she get through the day without knowing that?

Anyway, she isn’t her first World Cup with me, so she knows that she will lose her loving and supportive husband for 5-6 weeks, who is replaced with a sports nut, who only wants to discuss facts and games involving the World Cup with her. Her responses to my very important World Cup information involve:

“I didn’t know that.”

“Wow.”

“Cool.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

“Hmmmm.”

My wife also does a lot of nodding, as in she’s pretending that she’s actively listening to me, but in reality, she just wants me to shut up sometimes. She doesn’t care about the World Cup, as she has told me before. In saying that, she does listen to me discuss the World Cup, not out of love for football, but out of love for me. That’s romantic, isn’t it? Talking about sports to your non-sporting spouse is always entertaining.

I’ve got UMC1 and UMC2 pumped for it, so I’ve succeeded as a parent. I’m looking forward to viewing some amazing goals, terrific saves, appalling offside calls, magnificent set-pieces, passionate fans, bone-shaking tackles, resignations of managers, scandals, and, if I’m honest, some own goals.

So that’s it. Will you be watching or following the World Cup? Who are you supporting? Who do you think will win? As always, please let me know. Some reminders for what’s coming up on this popular blog over the next few weeks include the Supergirl Movie Preview/Review, my mid-Winter annual break, and my upcoming 300th blog post, which I only learnt about last week.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go watch some World Cup games, and I’ll see you next week.

---