Weather, politics & wildcards - all you need to know about 2026 World Cup

England sealed their place at the 2026 World Cup when Thomas Tuchel's side defeated Latvia to qualify with two games to spare.

It means Three Lions fans can now start their preparations for next summer's tournament whether they are going to it or watching on television.

From where the games will take place to how to get tickets, here is everything you need to know about what will be the biggest World Cup in history.

The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

It is the first time the tournament will be hosted by three different nations.

The opening match will take place on 11 June 2026 in Mexico City, with the final on 19 July in New Jersey.

The tournament is being expanded to include 48 teams for the first time and as a result it will last a record 39 days.

It has doubled in size since the last time the tournament was held in the United States, when 24 teams competed for the trophy in 1994.

The new format will feature 12 four-team groups and an extra knockout round - a round of 32.

Sixteen cities will host games during next summer's World Cup - 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada.

These are the 2026 World Cup host cities:

USA: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle.

Mexico: Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey.

Canada: Toronto and Vancouver.

The draw for the group stage will be held on Friday, 5 December at 16:00 GMT.

It will take place at John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts in Washington DC.

The teams representing the host countries will be assigned to positions A1 (Mexico), B1 (Canada) and D1 (USA).

The first batch of tickets went on sale at the start of October, with more than 4.5m fans entering a draw for a chance to buy them.

Fifa has not formally revealed a full price list, but they are being listed online by fans who were successful in the draw after spending hours in digital queues.

General admission tickets are being split into four categories, with those for the first match in the USA costing between $560 (£417) and $2,235 (£1,662).

The cheapest ticket for the 2026 final costs $2,030 (£1,510), and the most expensive is $6,000 (£4,462). Hospitality tickets, meanwhile, are yet to go on sale but will almost certainly be priced significantly higher.

Some tickets for matches early in the tournament - in a few of the less prestigious locations - are available for $60 (£44), but stadium map images show they are a tiny proportion of available seats.

The second phase of ticketing will begin on Monday, 27 October, with the Early Ticket Draw that will run until 31 October. This will involve an application process followed by a randomised selection.

A random selection draw will take place shortly after the groups are drawn on 5 December, during which fans can apply for specific matches.

A last-minute sales phase will take place closer to the tournament, during which fans will be able to purchase any remaining inventory on a first come, first served basis.

Fifa is adopting a 'dynamic' pricing model for the tournament, meaning ticket prices for matches deemed high demand could be raised significantly during later sales periods.

Fifa is also offering a 'Right To Buy' system to guarantee getting tickets, although fans can expect to pay significantly more for this option.

England have secured their place at next summer's tournament, along with 21 other teams.

Argentina, the world champions, are among those to have qualified but there are still 26 spots to fill.

The countries that have already secured their spot are:

Hosts: Canada, Mexico, United States.

Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, South Africa

Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan.

Europe: England.

Oceania: New Zealand.

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.

Of those countries, three have qualified for the World Cup for the first time in their history - Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan.

Suriname and Curiacao also remain hopeful of joining them as World Cup debutants.

The United States will host 78 of the 104 fixtures, including the final.

There have been a series of political assassinations in the US so far in 2025, and were more than 500 mass shootings across the country in 2024.

Forced deportations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have also increased on the orders of President Donald Trump, who has deployed National Guard troops in Democrat-led cities, including Los Angeles, which will host eight matches.

ICE and National Guard deployments have drawn mass protests from distrustful communities in some cities, and Trump has threatened to force matches to be moved from cities he deems "unsafe".

In March, he claimed the political and economic tensions between the US and co-hosts Canada and Mexico would be good for the tournament.

He made the comment after he imposed tariffs - taxes charged on goods imported from other countries - on the US' two neighbours.

Heat was an issue at the Club World Cup in the USA this summer and will once again be a concern for next year's World Cup.

Paris St-Germain manager Luis Enrique complained about his team having to play in near 40-degree heat in their Club World Cup opener against Atletico Madrid in Los Angeles, which started at noon local time.

Numerous coaches and players were affected by the heat and humidity, with Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez complaining of dizziness while playing.

Fifa is likely to schedule World Cup matches involving major European nations after midnight UK time in an effort to combat heat issues.

It is anticipated World Cup kick-off times will mirror those at the Club World Cup, when the earliest games started at 17:00 BST, followed by 20:00, 23:00 and 02:00.

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