The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup brings 48 national teams to 16 cities across Canada, Mexico, and the United States for 104 matches. Philadelphia is one of those host cities, staging six games at Lincoln Financial Field. During the tournament, the venue will be called Philadelphia Stadium due to FIFA’s sponsorship rules.
The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Philadelphia’s matches take place between June 14 and July 4, 2026. City officials expect the six games to draw more than half a million visitors in total.
The competition opens on Thursday, June 11, 2026, in Mexico City at Estadio Azteca. The 2026 edition is the 23rd World Cup, and it is the first to feature 48 teams and three host countries. The United States previously hosted in 1994. Mexico hosted in 1970 and 1986. Canada will host for the first time.
Philadelphia’s Match Schedule
Philadelphia Stadium will host five group stage games and one Round of 16 match. All times are Eastern Time.
Sunday, June 14, 2026 at 7 p.m.
Côte d’Ivoire vs. Ecuador — Match 9, Group E
Friday, June 19, 2026 at 9 p.m.
Brazil vs. Haiti — Match 29, Group C
Monday, June 22, 2026 at 5 p.m.
France vs. Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname — Match 42, Group I
The final opponent will be determined by a March 31, 2026 playoff.
Thursday, June 25, 2026 at 4 p.m.
Curaçao vs. Côte d’Ivoire — Match 55, Group E
Saturday, June 27, 2026 at 5 p.m.
Croatia vs. Ghana — Match 68, Group L
The knockout stage arrives in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 4, 2026 at 5 p.m. The Round of 16 match, listed as Match 89, features the winner of Match 74 in Boston against the winner of Match 77 in New York/New Jersey. The winner advances to a Quarter-final in Boston.
A rankings-based projection described for July 4 is France against Germany. The match could also include the U.S. Men’s national team depending on tournament results.
Philadelphia hosted a July Fourth soccer event during last year’s FIFA Club World Cup, when more than 64,000 fans attended a match between Chelsea and Brazilian side Palmeiras.
Ticket Sales and Hospitality Options
FIFA’s official ticket site and its ticket resale and exchange marketplace are currently closed. They reopen for the Last-Minute Sales Phase on April 2 at 11 a.m. Fans are advised to register an account and ID on FIFA’s website to receive ticketing updates.
Hospitality packages remain available. These include VIP spaces and food and beverage service and can be purchased for single games, all matches at one venue, or to follow a national team through its three group stage games and first knockout game. Single-game hospitality prices range from $1,450 per person for the Curaçao–Côte d’Ivoire match to $3,725 for the July 4 Round of 16 match.
Tickets are also listed on third-party platforms including StubHub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek and TickPick. Prices range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.
FIFA Fan Festival at Lemon Hill
For those without tickets, Philadelphia’s official FIFA Fan Festival will operate at Lemon Hill in East Fairmount Park from June 11 through July 19. The site features live match broadcasts on a large screen, along with music, food, and other entertainment. Capacity is 25,000 people, mostly standing based on renderings.
Organizers expect between 15,000 and 25,000 attendees on each match day. Non-match days will include ticketed concert events. SEPTA will increase access on the G trolley and bus routes 32, 49 and 7. Shuttles will transport visitors throughout the 46-acre green space, and bike valets will be available.
Broadcast and Local Viewing
Matches will air and stream live in English on FOX’s channels and app. FOX’s streaming service TUBI will stream select games.
Sports bars across the city are expected to show matches, particularly those that regularly air soccer. Listed venues include Cavanaugh’s with locations in Rittenhouse, Headhouse and Riverdeck on the Delaware waterfront; City Tap House in Logan Square; Tir Na Nog in Center City; and Paddy Whacks Irish Sports Pub on South Street, with another location in the Northeast. Chickie’s and Pete’s also operate numerous locations across the region.
🚨FIFA World Cup – Most Watched Football Matches 🚨
1.🇦🇷 Argentina vs 🇫🇷 France – 1.5B+ (2022)
2.🇫🇷 France vs 🇧🇷 Brazil – 1.3B+ (1998)
3.🇫🇷 France vs 🇭🇷 Croatia – 1.12B+ (2018)
4. 🇧🇷 Brazil vs 🇩🇪 Germany – 1.1B+ (2002)
5. 🇩🇪 Germany vs 🇦🇷 Argentina – 1.01B+ (2014)….See more pic.twitter.com/LMQ3aEsCdf— The Index Insider (@TheIndexInsider) February 27, 2026
How the 2026 Tournament Format Works
The 48 teams are divided into 12 groups of four, labeled Group A through Group L. Each team plays the other three teams in its group once in 90-minute matches. Teams earn three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero for a loss.
After the group stage, 32 teams advance to the knockout bracket. The top two teams in each group qualify automatically, along with the eight best third-place teams. Ties on points are broken by goal difference, then goals scored, then a fair play score, and finally FIFA world ranking.
The knockout bracket reduces the field from 32 to 16, then to 8 quarterfinalists, 4 semifinalists, and 2 finalists. Seeding includes 495 possible combinations. Knockout matches cannot end in draws. If tied after regulation, teams play two 15-minute extra-time periods. If still tied, a penalty shootout follows with five kicks per team and continues until one side fails to score.
🏆 FIFA World Cup Finalists (1986–2022)🚨
1986🇦🇷 Argentina vs 🇩🇪 West Germany
Winner: 🇦🇷 Argentina
1990🇩🇪 West Germany vs 🇦🇷 Argentina
Winner: 🇩🇪 West Germany
1994🇧🇷 Brazil vs 🇮🇹 Italy
Winner: 🇧🇷 Brazil
1998🇫🇷 France vs 🇧🇷 Brazil
Winner: 🇫🇷 France…See more pic.twitter.com/EUAZpx3mUi— The Index Insider (@TheIndexInsider) March 1, 2026
Teams Playing in Philadelphia
The five group stage games in Philadelphia include Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Brazil, Haiti, France, Curaçao, Croatia and Ghana, along with one of Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname.
France
Nickname: Les Bleus
FIFA rank: 3
Group I with Senegal, Norway and Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname
Head coach Didier Deschamps is one of three men to win the World Cup as both a player and a coach, along with Brazil’s Mário Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer. Deschamps and Beckenbauer won as captains.
France has missed six of the 22 World Cups. It won titles in 1998 and 2018 and finished runners-up in 2006 and at the most recent tournament in Qatar.
Zinedine Zidane scored twice in the 1998 final in Paris and led France to the 2006 final in Berlin, where he scored and was sent off for headbutting Italy’s Marco Materazzi. He is known as Zizzou and is linked to a 2014 song by Vaudeville Smash and Les Murray. He reportedly has a verbal agreement to coach the national team after Deschamps steps down this year.
Captain Kylian Mbappé was 19 when France won in 2018. He became the second teenager to score in a World Cup final after Pelé and is the youngest French goalscorer in tournament history. He scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final against Argentina before Lionel Messi’s team won in a penalty shootout.
Warren Zaïre-Emery and Désiré Doué will turn 20 and 21 just before the tournament. Both played key roles in Paris Saint-Germain’s 2024–25 season, when the club won the French league, cup and UEFA Champions League.
Brazil
Nicknames: Seleção, Canarinho
FIFA rank: 5
Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland
Head coach Carlo Ancelotti is the only manager to win league titles in all five of Europe’s top leagues. As a player, he finished third at the 1990 World Cup. He later served on Italy’s coaching staff that finished runner-up in 1994.
Brazil has won five World Cups: 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2022. It has finished second and third twice each and has appeared in every tournament.
Pelé won three World Cups and first did so at age 17. He later played for the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League.
Vinícius Jr. is Brazil’s current star following the 34-year-old Neymar. He seeks to improve on a quarterfinal exit in his debut World Cup. He played at the Linc last summer with Real Madrid in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Estêvão scored for Palmeiras against his future club Chelsea last summer and will be 19 when the tournament begins.
Croatia
Nicknames: Vatreni, Kockasti
FIFA rank: 11
Group L with England, Ghana and Panama
Head coach Zlatko Dalić will manage his third consecutive World Cup. Croatia has appeared in every tournament since 1998 except 2010 and has finished third twice and runner-up once, losing to France in the 2018 final in Moscow.
Davor Šuker won the Golden Shoe and Silver Ball at the 1998 World Cup.
Captain Luka Modrić won the Golden Ball in 2018 and the Bronze Ball in 2022. He is one of four Ballon d’Or winners since 2008 who was not Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. He is 40 years old.
Luka Vušković, a 6-foot-4 defender, is a Tottenham Hotspur player on loan at Hamburger SV. He has two international appearances and most recently started in a World Cup-qualifying win over the Faroe Islands.
Ecuador
Nickname: La Tri
FIFA rank: 23
Group E with Germany, Curaçao and Côte d’Ivoire
Ecuador has appeared in 2002, 2006, 2014 and 2022. Its best finish was reaching the Round of 16 in Germany in 2006.
Antonio Valencia played in 2006 and later spent 10 seasons at Manchester United.
Moisés Caicedo, 24, joined Chelsea from Brighton & Hove Albion in 2023 for a reported $146 million, a British transfer record at the time.
Kendry Páez, 18, is on Chelsea’s books and loaned to River Plate.
Côte d’Ivoire
Nickname: Les Éléphants
FIFA rank: 37
Group E with Germany, Curaçao and Ecuador
Head coach Emerse Faé led the team to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations title.
Côte d’Ivoire first qualified in 2006. The 2026 tournament is its fourth appearance and first since failing to qualify in 2018 and 2022. Its best finish was 17th place in South Africa in 2010. The team has never advanced beyond the group stage.
The team will base in Chester and Wilmington. It will train at Philadelphia Union’s Subaru Park and the adjacent WSFS Bank Sportsplex and stay in Delaware.
Côte d’Ivoire was added to the partially restricted ban list by the Trump administration in December.
Didier Drogba scored 65 goals in 105 appearances and later played in MLS for CF Montréal, then known as the Montreal Impact.
Franck Kessié has been captain since 2024 and plays for Al-Ahli after spells with Barcelona, AC Milan and Atalanta.
Yan Diomande, 19, plays for RB Leipzig and previously spent nearly three years in Florida youth soccer. He has been linked to Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
Ghana
Nickname: The Black Stars
FIFA rank: 72
Head coach Otto Addo is serving his second stint.
Ghana has appeared in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022. Its best finish was seventh in 2010. In that quarterfinal against Uruguay, with the score 1-1, Dominic Adiyiah’s late header was stopped by a deliberate handball by Luis Suarez. Suarez received a red card. Ghana was awarded a penalty that Asamoah Gyan missed. Uruguay advanced after winning the shootout.
Michael Essien played in 2006 and 2014 and was nicknamed the bison.
Antoine Semenyo transferred from Bournemouth to Manchester City for a reported fee of up to $86 million. He scored 10 goals in 20 games before the move and has five goals in eight appearances with Manchester City.
Abdul Fatawu turns 22 in March. He plays for Leicester City and has eight goals and seven assists this season.
Curaçao
Nickname: The Blue Wave
FIFA rank: 81
Group E with Germany, Côte d’Ivoire and Ecuador
Head coach Fred Rutten was appointed after Dick Advocaat stepped down to devote his full attention to his daughter, who is facing health issues. Curaçao is a constituent country of the Netherlands, and its citizens hold Dutch nationality.
This is Curaçao’s first World Cup. It is the smallest nation ever to qualify by population, 155,000, and land mass, 444 square kilometers. It has competed independently since 2010 after previously being part of the Netherlands Antilles. Many players were born in the Netherlands.
Rangelo Janga and Leandro Bacuna have represented Curaçao since 2016 and have 21 and 16 goals respectively.
Tahith Chong, 26, previously played for Feyenoord and Manchester United before moving to Luton and Sheffield United. He switched eligibility last August.
Haiti
Nickname: Les Grenadiers
FIFA rank: 83
Group C with Brazil, Morocco and Scotland
Head coach Sébastien Migné has not visited Haiti because of safety concerns since the 2010 earthquake.
Haiti qualified once before in 1974 and did not advance. It has played home games in Curaçao because of safety concerns.
Haiti is under a full travel ban to the U.S., with visa exceptions difficult outside the team and delegation.
Emmanuel “Manno” Sanon scored against Italy and Argentina in 1974. His goal against Italy ended Dino Zoff’s 19-game streak without conceding.
Danley Jean Jacques joined the Philadelphia Union in August 2024 and helped the team win the MLS Supporters’ Shield last season.
Wilson Isidor, 25, and Odsonne Édouard, 28, are eligible to switch to Haiti and play for Sunderland and Lens. Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde of Wolverhampton Wanderers switched last year.
Iraq / Bolivia / Suriname Playoff
Iraq, ranked 58, is known as the Lions of Mesopotamia. Bolivia, ranked 76, is known as La Verde. Suriname, ranked 123, is called Natio. Group I includes France, Senegal and Norway.
Twenty-two teams are competing for the final six spots, 16 from Europe and six from elsewhere. Bolivia and Suriname play on March 26 in Guadalupe, Mexico. The winner faces Iraq on March 31. The winner advances to the World Cup.
Iraq has appeared once, in 1986. Bolivia has appeared in 1930, 1950 and 1994. Suriname has never qualified. Iraq is under travel restrictions imposed by the Trump administration.
The U.S. Team and the July 4 Scenario
The U.S.A is ranked 15 and competes in Group D with Paraguay, Australia and Kosovo/Romania/Slovakia/Turkey. The team is known as the USMNT, the Stars and Stripes or the Yanks.
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino previously managed Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspurs, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. As a player, he represented Argentina at the 2002 World Cup and committed the foul that led to David Beckham’s game-winning penalty in the group stage against England.
The U.S. plays all group games on the West Coast. It faces Paraguay on Friday, June 12 in Los Angeles. The teams previously met in a friendly at Chester’s Subaru Park in November, where the U.S. won 2-1. The U.S. plays Australia on June 19 in Seattle after defeating Australia in October. It returns to Los Angeles on June 25 to play the UEFA Playoff C winner: Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia or Türkiye. Turkey is the highest ranked of those teams and defeated the U.S. in June.
A scenario has the U.S. finishing third in Group D and winning its Round of 32 match, which would send it to Philadelphia for the July 4 Round of 16 game. In December, Meg Kane, Philadelphia Soccer 2026’s host city executive, said: “We would like that to not happen, we’d like the U.S men’s national team to finish first in their group.”
Christian Pulisic, the team captain, is from Hershey and plays for AC Milan.
Players with Philadelphia-area ties who were in the squad that played in Chester last year include Brenden Aaronsen of Leeds from Medford, N.J.; Matt Freese of New York City FC from Wayne, Pa.; Mark McKenzie, who grew up in Bear, Del.; and Auston Trusty of Celtic from Media, Pa.
Other players involved last year include Paxten Aaronson of the Colorado Rapids; Zach Steffen of the Rapids from Coatesville in Chester County; Jack McGlynn of the Houston Dynamo; Union defender Nathan Harriel; and Union midfielder Indiana Vassilev.
Access, Transit and City Logistics
Lincoln Financial Field is accessible via I-95 and I-76. The quickest transit route is SEPTA’s B Broad Street Line to NRG Station, the final southbound stop.
Philadelphia is served by an international airport, Amtrak and a public transit system of buses, trolleys and trains.
FIFA World Cup Original Trophy Tour
The FIFA World Cup Original Trophy Tour comes to Philadelphia on Thursday, May 21, 2026. The event includes interactive activations, music, games, giveaways and a Coca-Cola sampling station. Admission is free, but tickets are required.
The tour includes Morocco, Spain and 37 other cities across North America before culminating in Mexico City ahead of the June 11, 2026 opening match.
Weather Outlook
In early June, average daytime highs are 78 degrees Fahrenheit with lows around 60. By late June, highs average 85 degrees with lows near 65. In July, daytime highs average 87 degrees with overnight lows around 70. The period typically includes sunny days and occasional pop-up thunderstorms.
Additional 2026 Events in Philadelphia
Events scheduled in 2026 include The Declaration’s Journey at the Museum of the American Revolution, new galleries at the National Constitution Center, and Wawa Welcome America, a 16-day celebration of independence.
