Canada to open 2026 World Cup in Toronto, with other games in Vancouver
Posted February 4, 2024 2:45 pm.
Canada will play its opening 2026 World Cup group match in Toronto on June 12, while the men’s other two games will take place in Vancouver on June 18 and June 24. The announcement by FIFA was made on Sunday afternoon.
Both Canadian cities will host five World Cup games each in the 104-game event.
Mexico City will host the 48-team tournament’s opening game on June 11, with the co-hosts facing an opponent to be determined at Azteca Stadium, while the U.S. will open its games in Los Angeles, on June 12. Seattle will also a U.S. group game.
Mexico’s other host cities are Guadalajara and Monterrey. Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Bay Area will host games in the U.S.
The complete schedule picture will have to wait, given the other 45 competing teams have yet to be decided with qualifying already underway in CONMEBOL (South America), the AFC (Asia) and CAF (Africa). Qualifying in CONCACAF, which covers North and Central America and the Caribbean, starts in March.
CONCACAF could send as many as eight teams to the expanded tournament whose draw is scheduled for early December 2025.
There will be 12 groups of four teams in the first round, with the top two from each group plus the eight best third-placed sides moving into the knockout round of 32.
—With files from The Canadian Press
