Everything to Know About the 2026 World Cup
From best dressed players to must-watch matches.
The World Cup, the five-and-a-half-week-long tournament that decides which country can call itself the best soccer (known everywhere outside of the United States as football) nation in the world—at least for the next four years—is officially underway. Last week, the action kicked off with the opening ceremony at Mexico City Stadium, where Lisa, Tyla, Future, and Katy Perry all performed before the home team squared up against South Africa, followed by South Korea versus the Czech Republic. The other two hosts, Canada and the U.S., began play the following day, with the former going up against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the latter competing against Paraguay. (Here's the full 2026 World Cup schedule for a breakdown by day.) The stakes are only going up from there as the true championship contenders, like Spain, France, England, and Argentina, make their way to the pitch.
But as much as the World Cup is about elite athleticism and brutal rivalries, it's also a cultural event beyond just what happens after kickoff. Brands like Adidas and Nike have been preparing for the tournament for years and generating hype for months. Adidas's recent Backyard Legends campaign, released in early May, is a perfect example of this, with the German sportswear brand bringing together a star-studded cast, including the GOAT Lionel Messi; the rising star Lamine Yamal; one of the top players in the women's game, Trinity Rodman; and noteworthy celebrity talent like Timothée Chalamet and Bad Bunny. Nike's been just as aggressive, working with Travis Scott to build buzz around the sport in the lead-up to this year's event. The World Cup only happens every four years, and it hasn't been hosted in North America in 32 years, since it came to the U.S. in 1994. These giants of the sportswear world know just as well as fans do how big a deal the World Cup is, and they're doing everything in their power to make it the most memorable tournament to date.
We know it too. Welcome to Who What Wear's Go Sports guide to the World Cup, where you won't just find out what matches to tune into and which first-timers to root for. You'll also read about the best dressers lacing up throughout the 104-game tourney and the work brands like the two mentioned above are doing to add style—beyond the bicycle kicks and rainbow flicks we'll hopefully spot on the pitch—into the mix. Dissect it all before the must-watch matches begin below.
A Fashion Fan's Guide to the 2026 World Cup
The Basics
On the off chance you haven't heard a single thing in the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup, these are the basics you'll want to learn first. This year, all 104 games will be played in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico, with a total of 16 host cities scattered throughout North America. The opening ceremony will take place at Mexico City Stadium (Estadio Azteca), and the final match will be held at New York New Jersey Stadium. (Yes, that is MetLife Stadium. It's just being temporarily rebranded.) In the U.S., other noteworthy stadiums include SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, home of the L.A. Rams; Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, home of the Atlanta Falcons; and Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, home of the Kansas City Chiefs. (Will we see Taylor Swift there? Only time will tell.) The fans at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico, also known as "El Gigante de Acero," are said to be the most passionate when it comes to soccer. And for style-minded people like us, BC Place in Vancouver, Canada, is regarded as one of the most aesthetically pleasing stadiums on the schedule—just saying. If you're not planning on going to any of the matches, don't fret. All 48 teams will have their match-ups aired on Fox Sports and Telemundo. Plus, streamers can tune in on Fubo, YouTube TV, Hulu+ Live TV, Sling TV, or the Fox Sports App.
The Stars
For those who are just getting into the beautiful game ahead of the World Cup, these are the names you have to know. Even if you've never watched a match, you've probably heard of a few of them, like Argentina's Lionel Messi, who scored twice in the finals in 2022 and converted the first penalty in the shootout, winning him his first World Cup title. One of Messi's primary career rivals, Cristiano Ronaldo, is another star of the sport. The Portuguese legend has played in five World Cup tournaments, but he's yet to win, making 2026 likely his final chance. France's Kylian Mbappé won in 2018 and, at the time, was the youngest player in French football history to score in the World Cup. Four years later, he came close to going back-to-back but came up short thanks to Messi and Argentina's triumph. (He did have a hat trick in the final, though.) That said, younger players are starting to rise up the ranks, coming for these goated athletes and their hopes of winning at the highest level in 2026.
Kylian Mbappé
Twenty-seven-year-old Kylian Mbappé has played in two World Cup tournaments and 14 total games during his career. In those matches, he's scored 12 total goals—that's nearly a goal a game, a magnificent feat given the level of competition in these matchups. In 2018, as a rookie to the event, he scored four goals, helping to take France to victory. Four years later, he doubled that, scoring eight goals and nearly winning it all again. According to DraftKings, as of May 10, his team and Spain are the favorites to take home the World Cup trophy this time around. If France wins in 2026, Mbappé would join an exclusive group of multi-time World Cup winners. Plus, given his age compared to other stars like Messi and Ronaldo, he's likely to have another shot in 2030.
Lionel Messi
The 2026 World Cup will mark Argentinian phenom Lionel Messi's sixth go at the World Cup and the first since he and his squad won in 2022 against France, when he averaged a goal a game. His rookie season was exactly 20 years ago, at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, after going professional in 2004 when he joined FC Barcelona. He's 38 now, and no one was sure he'd play. Messi is currently competing at a high level on his club team, Inter Miami CF, where he's been since 2023, when he left Paris Saint-Germain FC after two years. Still, we didn't know whether or not he'd want to come back to World Cup play after 2022's triumph. But after showing up in an Adidas campaign just weeks before the start of the tourney, he confirmed his participation, eliciting a sigh of relief for fans everywhere—in Argentina especially. The lone fact that he's playing at all makes the 2026 World Cup significant, with Messi being widely regarded as one of if not the greatest football players of his generation. He can do it all and has the 13 World Cup goals and 103 overall goals for the Argentina National Team to prove it.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of Messi's longtime foils. Though, the latter recently reminisced to Lo Del Pollo about their years of competing against each other at every level, calling their rivalry "beautiful." Like Messi, this year's tourney will be the Portuguese star's sixth World Cup showing, with a total of eight World Cup goals in 22 games. His best finish was fourth in his debut in 2006. Now, he's 41 years old and nearing the end of his lauded career, which saw him become the all-time leading scorer in men's international football with 142 goals from 225 games. He's on track to become the first player ever to score 1000 goals in competitive games, with 971 and counting. This year's World Cup tournament will only get him closer to that feat.
Vinícius Júnior
Brazilian forward Vinícius Júnior only made his World Cup debut in the last tournament, yet he's already made quite the name for himself in international play, having scored four goals in the 2022 tournament. His country holds the record for World Cup wins, with five, but Brazil hasn't won since 2002, and its best finish since then was just fourth, back in 2014, when it hosted the event. In other words, the pressure is on for Júnior to help bring his national team back to the top of the international standings, but he's handling it with grace. "I don't pay much attention to what people say," he said in a March press conference. "I imagine everyone wants me to be one of the protagonists. I'm prepared for all the challenges in my career. I've already played in a World Cup. I don't want to lose again." If he plays his cards right, there's no reason he can't avoid that fate in 2026.
The Rookies
As exciting as it is to see the players we've grown up with play in, for some, their final World Cup tournament, it's just as exhilarating to watch as the next generation of elite-level athletes achieves their dreams for the first time. We've watched them at multiple levels throughout their careers and seen them dominate at each stage, but now, they enter the biggest arena of all and prepare to face the ultimate test in the beautiful game. Can the rookies keep up? Can they handle the pressure of the world's stage? Can they bring the greatest trophy in football home to their native country? After tonight's kickoff, we'll start to answer some of these burning questions about the first-timers playing in the 2026 World Cup.
Lamine Yamal
He's only 18, but Spain's Lamine Yamal is already one of the most talked-about stars of the 2026 World Cup—and it hasn't even started yet. The FC Barcelona forward has been busy helping his team defeat its primary rival, Real Madrid, in El Clásico, the nickname given to any match between the two clubs. The result was FC Barcelona winning the 2025–26 LaLiga title, its 29th overall. He has tekkers like you wouldn't believe and a scoring ability that rivals Messi's. Plus, he's only at the very beginning of his career. Off the pitch, Yamal's influence is on the rise as well. Ahead of the tournament, he starred alongside Messi, Trinity Rodman, Jude Bellingham, Timothée Chalamet, Bad Bunny, and other Adidas ambassadors in Backyard Legends, the campaign and short film that instantly went viral on social media. Photos of him with Olivia Rodrigo similarly broke the internet when the pop star, who collaborated with Spotify and FC Barcelona on a custom jersey with her logo on it, attended El Clásico, meeting the team after its triumph. The hype is deserved and is expected to grow in spades once the tournament kicks off, especially given Spain's high odds of taking home the FIFA World Cup Trophy in 2026.
Désiré Doué
Twenty-year-old Désiré Doué is a highlights master and makes the beautiful game look easy. In basketball, people like to say players with good handles have the ball on a string. That's the Frenchman, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain and is making his World Cup debut in 2026 for the French team, which has the second-best odds of winning it all. He joins Mbappé, as well as star goalkeeper Robin Risser and 2025 UEFA Champions League Player of the Season Ousmane Dembélé, on France's roster, one that will be difficult to get past for their competition. Adding Doué to the mix is sure to make them an even greater threat given his natural talent and ability to step up in big games.
Erling Haaland
Despite breaking all kinds of records throughout his career and being widely regarded as one of the world's best strikers in professional football, Norway's Erling Haaland is only just now making his World Cup debut in 2026. Why? Well, it's been 27 years since his country qualified for the tournament, with the last time being way back in 1998, when it was held in Marseille, France. The team broke that streak at the tail end of 2025, when they beat Estonia and Italy in order to qualify, allowing Haaland to show off his skills, which are regularly put on display for his club team, Manchester City, on the biggest stage in the sport.
The Top 5
Though it's important to give flowers to the stars of the sport, in football, and especially during the World Cup, it's the teams—countries—that matter the most. Football is a team game—one player isn't going to win it all for you, something we've seen play out time and again. If a team doesn't have good chemistry, it doesn't matter how many stars you have on a roster. A less-flashy squad with a we-before-me mentality can take you out, even early in the tournament.
This year, 48 total squads will be competing for one trophy and, of course, bragging rights. Each one represents their home, and winning for your country will always come before any one player's desires for their résumé. In 2026, Spain and France are the favorites, with the latter hoping to make up for its loss in the finals in 2022 on the world stage. But don't count out the other top contenders—England, Brazil, and Argentina—who have all won, Argentina as recently as the last World Cup. England, being home to arguably the most elite club football championship in the sport, the Premier League, will always be competitive, and Brazil has won the World Cup title the most out of any other country, claiming it five times. Las Vegas may set the odds, but what will turn out on the field is another story.
Spain
Despite having only one win at the World Cup back in 2010, Spain is one of if not the favorite to take home the prize in 2026, led by one of the greatest young talents in the sport, Lamine Yamal. The team is coming off a big win at the Euros in 2024, where La Roja beat England 2–1 in the finals in Berlin. Now, they're hoping to follow up that triumph by bringing the top trophy in football back home, with coach Luis de la Fuente tapping other young stars like Pau Cubarsí and Fermín López, both of whom play alongside Yamal at FC Barcelona. Spain's first game will see the national team play Cape Verde on June 15 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
France
In 2022, France was minutes away from winning back-to-back World Cup titles after claiming victory at the 2018 tournament against Croatia. It would have been only the third time this has happened in the event's history, with Italy having achieved it in 1934 and 1938, and Brazil doing the same in 1958 and 1962. In a shootout, Argentina prevailed, a fact the French will no doubt use as motivation this time around. The team is led by Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, promising World Cup rookie Désiré Doué (one of many World Cup newcomers on the squad), and manager Didier Deschamps, and will kick off play on June 16 at New York New Jersey Stadium (MetLife Stadium).
England
It's been 60 years since England won its one and only World Cup title back in 1966, when the team triumphed at home at Wembley Stadium against West Germany, a feat that coach Thomas Tuchel will hope to re-create at this year's tournament in North America. Tuchel has called on Premier League stars Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, and Bukayo Saka, as well as key pieces from European club teams, like captain Harry Kane, a striker for Bayern Munich. The squad will start off play at Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders) on June 17 against Croatia.
Brazil
Brazil is the winningest country in the history of the World Cup, achieving greatness five times, in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002. It's been a while, though, and the squad with arguably the most lore will hope to end its winless streak in 2026. Going into the tournament—Brazil's 23rd, having never failed to qualify since the inaugural event in 1930—the team is ranked sixth in the world, with star Vinícius Júnior, Raphinha, and new coach Carlo Ancelotti leading the charge. The Seleção Canarinho will match up against Morocco on the 13th at New York New Jersey Stadium.
Argentina
As the reigning World Cup champions, Argentina is undoubtedly in the running for this year's trophy, especially with star Lionel Messi returning to the squad for what will likely be his final World Cup run. This will be the team's 19th campaign, and going back-to-back would bring its win total to four. Further bolstering its chances of winning is the fact that, in addition to winning the World Cup in 2022, Argentina also triumphed at the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa América. The team is led by coach Lionel Scaloni, Messi, and goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, and will begin play on June 16 at Kansas City Stadium (otherwise known as Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs), facing off against Algeria.
The Best Dressed
This wouldn't be Go Sports if we didn't talk about the most stylish players set to compete in this year's tournament. While they'll be busy on the pitch, we have plenty of time to stalk their Instagram photo dumps, which often feature a mix of both action shots from games and high-fashion ensembles consisting of curated pieces by the likes of Off-White, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and more. Football is becoming one of the most sartorially minded sports in the world, competing with the likes of Formula One, the NBA, and the NFL. England's Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea FC) and Joe Willock (Newcastle United) immediately come to mind, with the latter recently walking in the 424 show during Paris Fashion Week in January. Both are styled by London-based stylist Algen Hamilton. France's Jules Koundé (FC Barcelona) is another footballer with an innate ability to mix streetwear with polished French luxury, carrying Birkins and wearing berets. Koundé is joined on the French national team by Kylian Mbappé, a Dior brand ambassador. Clearly, it's not just French women who make dressing look effortless. The guys know a thing or two about fashion as well. Young gun Lamine Yamal is likewise becoming something of a street style star, recently donning a Louis Vuitton 'fit on the sidelines before the LaLiga EA Sports match between FC Barcelona and Real Betis Balompié.
The Must-See TV
Between June 11 and July 19, there will be nonstop action on the pitch and therefore endless options for matches to watch, either from the comfort of your own home or surrounded by friends and strangers alike in a bar, pub, café, or restaurant. The latter might be less comfortable, but when it comes to the World Cup, an event that will pack watering holes around the world, it's definitely worth the "sacrifice." Above, find all the important dates you'll want to mark on your calendars, from tonight's opening ceremony to the final match in a few short (but eventful!) weeks.
The Big Brands
When it comes to an event as big and international as the World Cup, every brand understandably wants to get in on the action. The World Cup final from 2022 had a total reach of 1.42 billion viewers, according to FIFA. Overall, that tournament engaged five billion fans across all media, including social, streaming, television, and FIFA platforms. This year is expected to grow on that, especially since the 1994 World Cup—the last time the tournament was hosted by the U.S.—remains the most attended FIFA World Cup in history, with 3.6 million spectators. But it's not always easy for companies to do so authentically when they aren't already established in the sport. Fortunately, brands like Adidas and Nike have been building authority around the world, and particularly in the U.S., for years. Even beyond what happens on the pitch, Adidas especially has become synonymous with soccer style, leaning into silhouettes like the Samba—originally an indoor soccer shoe—as well as track pants and jackets with the brand's signature three-stripe insignia. Nike followed suit with its Total 90 collection, a football-fueled line that has recently collaborated with brands like Procell and Kids of Immigrants to garner buzz ahead of the World Cup.
Adidas
As the official partner of the World Cup, Adidas will play a bigger role than any of its competitors in this year's tournament. The German sportswear brand's iconic logo will be on every single ball used on the pitch, and for many teams, it will also be embroidered on their home and away kits. (Adidas revealed the home jerseys for 23 national teams, including Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and Japan, last fall, followed by away jerseys earlier this spring.) Plus, two of the biggest names in the tournament, Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi, are Adidas athletes, which is why they both appeared in the brand's phenomenal Backyard Legends campaign, costarring Timothée Chalamet, Bad Bunny, Trinity Rodman, Jude Bellingham, Zinedine Zidane, and more. Suffice to say, Adidas has done everything it can to be the brand name on everyone's lips (and jerseys) throughout the World Cup—and fans are fully on board. Plus, a collab with Messi and Kith arrived just in time and is full of pieces to shop, from soccer-inspired sneakers to graphic tees.
Nike
Though Nike's somewhat on the back foot compared to Adidas, that's never stopped the powerhouse company before. There are countless occasions of the American brand not being the sponsor of a major sporting event, only to dominate headlines. In a WWD article published earlier this year, Matt Powell, a senior adviser at BCE Consulting, noted the 2012 Olympics as a perfect example, when Adidas sponsored, but Nike won out in public opinion. When you have Travis Scott as an ambassador and countless athletes under your fold—including Team USA's dominant women's soccer squad—nothing's out of the realm of possibility. Plus, Nike introduced something new and innovative for its lineup of World Cup kits, designed for France, Croatia, Nigeria, China, and more national teams: Aero-Fit performance cooling technology. Aero-Fit is an advanced cooling apparel system that helps athletes stay cool even in the most extreme temperatures, which are expected during this summer's tournament in locations like Mexico City, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, and Guadalajara, to name a few.
Boggi Milano
Outside of the sportswear world, Boggi Milano is the brand making the biggest splash ahead of the 2026 World Cup, after the Italian fashion house joined forces with FIFA, becoming the official formalwear supplier of both the 2026 World Cup and the Women's World Cup in 2027. The news was announced in late 2025, and, according to a press release, the partnership will last four years and see FIFA President Gianni Infantino, as well as the entire FIFA workforce, wear the special-edition collection. “We are honored to collaborate with FIFA on a project that perfectly unites the worlds of sport and elegance," Claudio Zaccardi, president and chief executive officer of Boggi Milano, said in the release. "Dressing the organization's staff and introducing a dedicated capsule collection allows us to express our vision of a contemporary, inclusive, and international style—bringing it to a global audience for the very first time.”
