World Cup 2026 Preview
With the start of World Cup 2026 here, the magic of this tournament can be seen everywhere: in its ability to resurrect Neymar's playing career from the brink of no-return; in the twisted joy it takes from tempting England, the Netherlands and Belgium and so many others to believe they can conquer this Sisyphean feat; in the suffocating chokehold it has over Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal.
Even those who have reached the summit aren't immune from its pull. Lionel Messi was supposed to call it a day when Argentina finally got over the line four years ago, albeit not without a few questionable refereeing calls. Instead, he reversed his decision in order to try his luck again, this time juggling his football with an abassadorial role for the US.
Kylian Mbappe was 19 when he put France on his back and danced Les Bleus to the title eight years ago. In Qatar he topped the scoring charts – and netted a hat-trick in the final. Despite having only featured at two editions of the tournament, he could become the World Cup's outright all-time top-scorer with five goals this summer. Yet he finds himself in the absurd position of wanting to win in part just to ward off criticism from Real Madrid's legions of fans.
Looking to make a similarly mesmeric impact on their introduction to the world stage are Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland, arguably the two most destructive individuals in club football. Despite being sidelined with a hamstring injury in recent weeks, the mere presence of the electrifying 18-year-old in the Spain squad sets them apart as World Cup favourites.
What is the World Cup 2026 schedule?
(All times BST)
GROUP STAGE
Thursday, June 11
Venue: Mexico City Stadium
8pm – Mexico vs South Africa
FIFA World Cup - Group A
Mexico 1 , South Africa 0
Half time , in progress
[Mexico: J. Quiñones (9') ⚽ 9 minutes; Assists by Mexico,É. Lira (9')]
2nd Half, started:
[⚽ R. Jiménez (67') ; Assists by R. Alvarado (67')]
Friday, June 12
3am – South Korea vs Czech Republic
8pm – Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina
Saturday, June 13
2am – USA vs Paraguay
8pm – Qatar vs Switzerland
11pm – Brazil vs Morocco
Sunday, June 14
2am – Haiti vs Scotland
5am – Australia vs Turkey
6pm – Germany vs Curacao
9pm – Netherlands vs Japan
Monday, June 15
12am – Ivory Coast vs Ecuador
3am – Sweden vs Tunisia
5pm – Spain vs Cape Verde
8pm – Belgium vs Egypt
11pm – Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay
Tuesday, June 16
2am – Iran vs New Zealand
8pm – France vs Senegal
11pm – Iraq vs Norway
Wednesday, June 17
2am – Argentina vs Algeria
5am – Austria vs Jordan
6pm – Portugal vs DR Congo
9pm – England vs Croatia
Thursday, June 18
12am – Ghana vs Panama
3am – Uzbekistan vs Colombia
5pm – Czech Republic vs South Africa
8pm – Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina
11pm – Canada vs Qatar
Friday, June 19
2am – Mexico vs South Korea
8pm – USA vs Australia
11pm – Scotland vs Morocco
Saturday, June 20
2am – Brazil vs Haiti
5am – Turkey vs Paraguay
6pm – Netherlands vs Sweden
9pm – Germany vs Ivory Coast
Sunday, June 21
1am – Ecuador vs Curacao
5am – Tunisia vs Japan
5pm – Spain vs Saudi Arabia
8pm – Belgium vs Iran
11pm – Uruguay vs Cape Verde
Monday, June 22
2am – New Zealand vs Egypt
6pm – Argentina vs Austria
10pm – France vs Iraq
Tuesday, June 23
1am – Norway vs Senegal
4am – Jordan vs Algeria
6pm – Portugal vs Uzbekistan
9pm – England vs Ghana
Wednesday, June 24
12am – Panama vs Croatia
3am – Colombia vs DR Congo
8pm – Switzerland vs Canada
8pm – Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Qatar
11pm – Morocco vs Haiti
11pm – Scotland vs Brazil
Thursday, June 25
2am – South Africa vs South Korea
2am – Czech Republic vs Mexico
9pm – Curacao vs Ivory Coast
9pm – Ecuador vs Germany
Friday, June 26
12am – Tunisia vs Netherlands
12am – Japan vs Sweden
3am – Turkey vs USA
3am – Paraguay vs Australia
8pm – Norway vs France
8pm – Senegal vs Iraq
Saturday, June 27
1am – Cape Verde vs Saudi Arabia
1am – Uruguay vs Spain
4am – New Zealand vs Belgium
4am – Egypt vs Iran
10pm – Panama vs England
10pm – Croatia vs Ghana
Sunday, June 28
12.30am – Colombia vs Portugal
12.30am – DR Congo vs Uzbekistan
3am – Algeria vs Austria
3am – Jordan vs Argentina
KNOCKOUT STAGE
ROUND OF 32
Sunday, June 28
8pm – A2 vs B2
Monday, June 29
6pm – C1 vs F2
9.30pm – E1 vs A/B/C/D/F3
Tuesday, June 30
2am – F1 vs C2
6pm – E2 vs I2
10pm – I1 vs C/D/F/G/H3
Wednesday, July 1
2am – A1 vs C/E/F/H/I3
5pm – L1 vs E/H/I/J/K3
9pm – G1 vs A/E/H/I/J3
Thursday, July 2
1am – D1 vs B/E/F/I/J3
8pm – H1 vs J2
Friday, July 3
12am – K2 vs L2
4am – B1 vs E/F/G/I/J3
7pm – D2 vs G2
11pm – J1 vs H2
Saturday, July 4
2.30am – K1 vs D/E/I/J/L3
ROUND OF 16
Saturday, July 4
6pm – Round of 16 game 1
10pm – Round of 16 game 2
Sunday, July 5
9pm – Round of 16 game 3
Monday, July 6
1am – Round of 16 game 4
8pm – Round of 16 game 5
Tuesday, July 7
1am – Round of 16 game 6
5pm – Round of 16 game 7
9pm – Round of 16 game 8
QUARTER-FINALS
Thursday, July 9
9pm – Quarter-final 1
Friday, July 10
8pm – Quarter-final 2
Saturday, July 11
10pm – Quarter-final 3
Sunday, July 12
2am – Quarter-final 4
SEMI-FINALS
Tuesday, July 14
8pm – Semi-final 1
Wednesday, July 15
8pm – Semi-final 2
FINALS
Saturday, July 18
10pm – Third-place playoff
Sunday, July 19
8pm – 2026 FIFA World Cup final
World Cup 2026 groups
Group A Table
Position • Team • GD • Points
1 • Mexico • 0 • 0
2 • South Africa • 0 • 0
3 • South Korea • 0 • 0
4 • Czechia • 0 • 0
Group B Table
Position • Team • GD • Points
1 • Canada • 0 • 0
2 • Bosnia and Herzegovina • 0 • 0
3 • Qatar • 0 • 0
4 • Switzerland • 0 • 0
Group C Table
Position • Team • GD • Points
1• Brazil • 0 • 0
2 • Morocco • 0 • 0
3• Haiti • 0 • 0
4 • Scotland • 0 • 0
Group D Table
Position • Team • GD • Points
1 • USA • 0 • 0
2 • Paraguay• 0 • 0
3 • Australia • 0 • 0
4 • Turkey • 0 • 0
Group E Table
Position • Team • GD • Points
1 • Germany • 0 • 0
2 • Curacao • 0 • 0
3 • Ivory Coast • 0 • 0
4 • Ecuador • 0 • 0
Group F Table
Position • Team • GD • Points
1 • Netherlands • 0 • 0
2 • Japan • 0 • 0
3 • Sweden • 0 • 0
4 • Tunisia • 0 • 0
Group G Table
Position
Team
GD
Points
1
Belgium
0
0
2
Egypt
0
0
3
Iran
0
0
4
New Zealand
0
0
Group H Table
No comments:
Post a Comment