FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off across three host countries

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the first in history to be jointly hosted by three countries—the United States, Canada, and Mexico will officially begin today, AzerNEWS reports.

The tournament's opening match will take place in Group A, where Mexico will face South Africa. The match will be held at the iconic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City and is scheduled to kick off at 23:00 Baku time. Brazilian FIFA referee Wilton Sampaio has been appointed to officiate the encounter.

For the first time in World Cup history, the tournament will feature 48 national teams. A total of 1,248 players have been registered for the competition. The national teams of Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan will make their World Cup debuts at the world's most prestigious football tournament.

A total of 104 matches will be played during the tournament, with 78 of them taking place in the United States.

One of the teams attracting particular interest among Azerbaijani football fans is Turkiye, which has qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 24 years. Drawn into Group D, the Crescent-Stars will play their opening match against Australia on June 14 at 08:00 Baku time.

The group stage line-up is as follows:

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic

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

Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland

Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Türkiye

Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador

Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia

Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand

Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay

Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, Iraq

Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan

Group K: Portugal, DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia

Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana

The tournament will conclude on July 19. The reigning world champions are Argentina, who lifted the trophy at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after defeating France in a memorable final.