Matchups & Teams: Full Schedule Overview

The 2026 World Cup is getting closer. The twelve preliminary round groups were formed on Friday and will decide on the first opponents, possible tournament paths and the chances of numerous football nations. It is now clear for the DFB team who they will face in the group phase. Here you will find the complete overview of all groups.

Group A (Mexico)

host Mexico was automatically placed in Group A. Also included: South Africa, South Korea and the winner of the Uefa-Playoff-Pfads D (Czech Republic, Ireland, Denmark or North Macedonia).

The six preliminary round games of Group A will take place in Mexico City (2), Guadalajara (2), Atlanta (1) and Monterrey (1) instead.

Group B (Canada)

host You have was automatically placed in Group B. Also there: the winner of the Uefa-Playoff-Pfads A (Wales, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Italy or Northern Ireland), Train and the Switzerland.

The six preliminary round games of Group B will take place in Vancouver (2), Los Angeles (1), the San Francisco Bay Area (1), Seattle (1) and Toronto (1) instead.

Group C (Brazil)

Play in Group C Brazil, Morocco, Haiti (second finals participation after 1974) and Scotland.

The six preliminary round games of Group C will take place in Boston (2), Atlanta (1), Miami (1), New York/New Jersey (1) and Philadelphia (1) instead.

Group D (USA)

host USA was automatically placed in group D. Also included: Paraguay, Australia and the winner of the Uefa-Playoff-Pfads C (Slovakia, Kosovo, Türkiye or Romania).

The six preliminary round games in Group D will take place in Los Angeles (2), the San Francisco Bay Area (2), Seattle (1) and Vancouver (1) instead.

Group E (Germany)

Deutschland plays in Group E. There Julian Nagelsmann’s team meets World Cup newcomers Curaçaodie Ivory Coast and Ecuador.

The six preliminary round games of Group E will take place in Philadelphia (2), Houston (1), Kansas-City (1), New York/New Jersey (1) and Toronto (1) instead.

Since the individual match days have already been scheduled, it is also clear on which days the German national team will play its group games. However, FIFA will not announce the specific venues and kick-off times until December 6th. Germany will play at the 2026 World Cup on these days:

• Sunday, June 14th: Germany – Curacao (Philadelphia or Houston)
• Saturday June 20th: Germany – Ivory Coast (Toronto or Kansas City)
• Thursday, June 25th: Germany – Ecuador (Philadelphia or New York / New Jersey)

Group F (Netherlands)

They play in Group F Netherlands, Japanthe winner of the Uefa-Playoff-Pfads B (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland or Albania) and Tunisia.

The six preliminary round games of Group F will take place in dallas (2), Monterrey (2), Houston (1) and Kansas-City (1) instead.

Group G (Belgium)

Play in Group G Belgium, Egypt, Iran and New Zealand.

The six preliminary round games in Group G will take place in Los Angeles (2), Seattle (2) and Vancouver (2) instead.

Group H (Spain)

European champions play in Group H Spain, World Cup newcomer Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.

The six preliminary round games of Group H will take place in Atlanta (2), Miami (2), Guadalajara (1) and Houston (1) instead.

Group I (France)

Play in Group I France, Senegalthe winner of the Fifa-Playoff-Pfads 2 (Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname) and Norway.

The six preliminary round games of Group I will take place in Boston (2), New York/New Jersey (2), Philadelphia (1) and Toronto (1) instead.

Group J (Argentina)

The reigning world champion Argentina will play in Group J Algeria, Austria and World Cup debutant Jordan.

The six preliminary round games in Group J will take place in dallas (2), Kansas-City (2) and the San Francisco Bay Area (2) instead.

Group K (Portugal)

Play in Group K Portugalthe winner of the Fifa-Playoff-Pfads 1 (DR Congo, New Caledonia or Jamaica), World Cup newcomer Uzbekistan and Colombia.

The six preliminary round games of Group K will take place in Houston (2), Atlanta (1), Guadalajara (1), Mexico City (1) and Miami (1) instead.

Group L (England)

Die English get it in group L Croatia, Ghana and Panama to do.

The six games in Group L will take place in Toronto (2), Boston (1), dallas (1), New York/New Jersey (1) and Philadelphia (1) instead.

What was announced in Washington, DC?

At the event in Washington, DC on Friday evening, the twelve preliminary round groups (A-L) of the 2026 World Cup were formed. Each group head was assigned a team from draw pots 2, 3 and 4.

Further details such as venues and kick-off times will follow on Saturday at a separate FIFA event, as President Gianni Infantino announced on Monday.

Overall start 48 nations at the World Cup. 42 of these have already been decided, and six more will be added in March 2026 Playoff competitions certainly. These include the following teams:

1. UEFA playoff path A: Wales/Bosnia – Italy/Northern Ireland
2. UEFA playoff path B: Ukraine/Sweden – Poland/Albania
3. UEFA playoff path C: Slovakia/Kosovo – Türkiye/Romania
4. UEFA playoff path D: Czech Republic/Ireland – Denmark/North Macedonians
5. FIFA playoff path 1: DR Congo – in Neucaledonia/Jamaica
6. FIFA playoff path 2: Irak – Bolivia/Suriname

The DR Congo and Iraq are seeded and only have to play one final game each.

A group always exposes itself four Teams together – one from each pot. The hosts Mexico, You have and the USA were already in the group heads Groups A, B or D set.

All World Cup teams at a glance

These are all the countries whose national teams have already been seeded or qualified for the finals in summer 2026:

1. Egypt
2. Algeria
3. Argentina
4. Australia
5. Belgium
6. Brazil
7. Curaçao
8. Deutschland
9. Ecuador
10. Ivory Coast
11. England
12. France
13. Ghana
14. Haiti
15. Iran
16. Japan
17. Jordan
18. You have
19. Cape Verde
20. Train
21. Colombia
22. Croatia
23. Morocco
24. Mexico
25. New Zealand
26. Netherlands
27. Norway
28. Austria
29. Panama
30. Paraguay
31. Portugal
32. Saudi Arabia
33. Scotland
34. Switzerland
35. Senegal
36. Spain
37. South Africa
38. South Korea
39. Tunisia
40. Uruguay
41. USA
42. Uzbekistan

It is already clear in which stadiums the respective groups will play their preliminary round games. This is how they are distributed 72 group games on the total 16 venues: