The 2026 World Cup will kick off Mexico City’s Aztec Stadium on June 11, with the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey 38 days later, governing body FIFA has announced.
The showpiece event, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will involve 48 teams for the first time.
Mexico hosted the finals alone in both 1970, when Brazil lifted the trophy, and in 1986 – when Diego Maradona guided Argentina to success after scoring his ‘Hand of God’ goal against England in the quarter-finals.
FIFA later confirmed the 2026 final will take place at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New York on July 19, which will see the tournament last a record total 39 days. The third-place play-off will be hosted in Miami.
Canada’s first game will be held in Toronto on June 12, while the USA’s opening match will be played in Los Angeles on the same day.
There will be a total of 16 host cities, including Monterrey and Guadalajara elsewhere in Mexico.
Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle had all been named as the other host cities in the US, with Vancouver the other venue in Canada.
The 2014 and 2018 finals lasted 32 days, as did France in 1998. FIFA had already said the 2026 tournament would have the same 56-day overall ‘footprint’ of rest, release and tournament days as the three most recent summer finals.
The 2026 World Cup will feature 12 four-team groups and also a last-32 knockout round for the first time. In all, the new format will involve 104 matches being played.
Winners and runners-up in each of the 12 four-team groups will advance to a new round of 32, where they will be joined by the eight best third-placed teams.
The game’s global governing body had ditched plans for 16 three-team groups, acknowledging the “risk of collusion” in that format while also having been persuaded to stick with four-team groups after the drama which unfolded at the end of the group phase at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was the last tournament to feature 32 teams.
Bayern Munich 2-0 Wolfsburg: Zvonarek scores on first start in Tuchel's final home game
Second-placed Bayern Munich beat Wolfsburg 2-0 with teenager Lovro Zvonarek scoring on his first start in their final Bundesliga home game of the season on Sunday as they eased towards the end of a trophy-less campaign.
Bayern have 72 points, two ahead of third-placed Stuttgart with one game remaining. Unbeaten champions Bayer Leverkusen, on 84, visit Bochum later on Sunday.
Four days after Bayern's Champions League semi-final exit to Real Madrid confirmed their first season without silverware in over a decade, the Bavarians put in a solid performance against the Wolves despite a string of changes to Thomas Tuchel's team.
They were missing striker Harry Kane, nursing a minor back problem, and were also without Serge Gnabry, who was injured in their defeat by Real, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala.
Zvonarek, the 19-year-old Croatian who had only made a handful of substitute appearances for the team, scored four minutes into his first start, drilling home for the lead.
Leon Goretzka doubled the advantage nine minutes later with the hosts quickly taking full control of the game.
Bryan Zaragoza also thought he had netted on his first league start for the Bavarians, but the 22-year-old Spaniard's effort was disallowed for offside.
The hosts took their foot off the gas with Tuchel's Bayern career coming to an end next week, a year earlier than his contract, after a disappointing domestic campaign that also included a German Cup exit to third-tier club Saarbruecken.
Data Debrief: Clean sheet for Neuer on landmark outing
Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer made his 500th Bundesliga appearance, 156 of those having come for Schalke and 344 for his current side.
The veteran stopper had two saves to make en route to becoming the fourth goalkeeper in Bundesliga history to reach that 500 mark, after Oliver Kahn (557), Eike Immel (534) and Uli Stein (512).
Paris Saint-Germain 1-3 Toulouse: Visitors spoil Ligue 1 champions party
Paris Saint-Germain were stunned in a 3-1 home defeat by Toulouse on Sunday, as the newly-crowned champions suffered only their second loss in Ligue 1 this season.
Luis Enrique's side struggled for form after their midweek Champions League semi-final loss to Borussia Dortmund, falling again at home to remain on 70 points from 32 games, six clear of second-placed Monaco.
Kylian Mbappe, who confirmed on Friday that he will leave PSG at the end of the season, opened the scoring after eight minutes with a fine finish into an open goal following a pinpoint pass from goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.
Toulouse equalised five minutes later through Thijs Dalling, who coolly slotted home from close range before Yann Gboho put the visitors ahead with a superb curling effort into the top right corner in the 68th minute.
Frank Magri's stoppage-time strike sealed the win for Toulouse, who are 10th in the standings with 43 points.
Data Debrief: PSG’s defensive problems
PSG have now gone 11 home games without a clean sheet in Ligue 1, equalling their longest such run in their history in the top flight (also 11 in October 1978-May 1979).
Having suffered an unexpected defeat here, PSG also missed the chance to match their second-longest unbeaten run in the league (27 between August 1993 and April 1994), behind the 36 across March 2015 and February 2016.
'I don't stop' – Simeone focused after bringing up 400 Atletico wins with Celta triumph
Diego Simeone is refusing to relent in his pursuit with Atletico Madrid after bringing up 400 wins during his managerial tenure at the club.
Atletico needed a late stunner from Rodrigo De Paul to edge past Celta Vigo on Sunday, keeping them on course for Champions League qualification.
Simeone's side would secure a top-four spot in LaLiga if they beat Getafe on Wednesday.
That remains Simeone's firm focus, rather than celebrating personal achievements.
The Atletico boss told reporters: "I don't stop. I know what I want, I know what I'm looking for, I know where the path is.
"I will continue pushing until the last day I am here.
"We will continue game by game until the end, and then we will analyse well what needs to be assessed."
Though not accepting any personal praise, Simeone lauded the support of Atletico's fans after another positive season in the Spanish capital.
"The unconditional support we have with our people," he added. "What is happening this season, our strength at home that is repeated and repeated, and repeated…
"It is not only because of what we can give. There is a passion that is extraordinary, unbeatable in that sense.
"It makes us play with a plus. It exists, it is seen, I hope we can continue repeating it for a long time"
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