World Cup 2026: Your personal guide to a football world tour in Canada, Mexico & the USA

World Cup 2026 will be bigger than any World Cup before it: 48 teams, 3 host countries, 16 venues and 104 matches. If you’re already thinking about flying to North America, you’re in exactly the right place.

In this article, I’ll give you a personal but well-researched overview of World Cup 2026 – including travel tips and a nice extra: a separate blog post on extreme sports travel destinations around World Cup 2026, which I’ll link to for you along the way.

1. World Cup 2026 – key facts at a glance

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place from 11 June to 19 July 2026. For the first time in history, a World Cup will be hosted in three countries:

• Canada
• Mexico
• USA

Instead of 32 nations, this time there will be 48 teams, and the number of matches will rise to 104 games. This makes World Cup 2026 the largest tournament FIFA has ever organised.

If you want to double-check the hard facts, have a look at:

• the official FIFA tournament page:
  https://www.fifa.com/de/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026
• the German Wikipedia article on the 2026 World Cup:
  https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu%C3%9Fball-Weltmeisterschaft_2026

2. New tournament format: how World Cup 2026 works

With 48 instead of 32 teams, FIFA needed a new format. Don’t worry – you don’t have to memorise a rulebook. Here’s the short version:

• 12 groups with 4 teams each
• Each team plays 3 group matches
• The following go through:
  • the top two teams in each group (24 teams)
  • plus the eight best third-placed teams
• Then we move into a knockout phase with 32 teams:
  Round of 32 → Round of 16 → Quarter-finals → Semi-finals → Final

For tactics lovers, there’s another interesting detail: FIFA has announced that the top teams will be seeded in such a way that nations like Spain, Argentina, France and England – if they win their groups – will only meet from the semi-finals onwards. The structure is a bit like the seeding system at a tennis Grand Slam.

3. Host cities: where World Cup 2026 will be played

World Cup 2026 is spread across 16 host cities in North America. According to FIFA, these are:

Canada

• Toronto
• Vancouver

Mexico

• Mexico City
• Guadalajara
• Monterrey

USA

• Atlanta
• Boston (Foxborough)
• Dallas (Arlington)
• Houston
• Kansas City
• Los Angeles (Inglewood)
• Miami
• New York / New Jersey (East Rutherford)
• Philadelphia
• San Francisco Bay Area (Santa Clara)
• Seattle

You can find an overview of all host cities on FIFA’s official page:
https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/host-cities

Personal impressions of the regions

Canada – football & natural cinema

• Toronto is ideal if you like big-city vibes, water and skyline views.
• Vancouver is perfect if you want to combine World Cup matches with outdoor adventures – mountains, sea and trails are all right on your doorstep.

Mexico – football history and great food

• In Mexico City, the Estadio Azteca is an absolute cult stadium.
• Guadalajara and Monterrey are modern cities with lively food scenes and easy access to nature – ideal if you want to pair match days with trips and excursions.

USA – stadiums in XXL format

• The West Coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle) is made for road trips along the Pacific.
• The central region (Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Atlanta) offers lots of matches in relatively tight clusters.
• On the East Coast (New York/New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami) you can combine football with classic city breaks and beach time.

4. Tickets & hospitality: how to get into the stadium

Ticket sales for World Cup 2026 will run through the official FIFA channels. Typically, there are several phases: application periods, random allocation (lotteries) and later “first come, first served” sales.

Important links:

• Official FIFA ticket portal
  https://www.fifa.com/en/tickets
• Official hospitality (VIP, boxes, premium seats)
  https://fifaworldcup26.hospitality.fifa.com/

My tip:

1. Set up a FIFA account early.
2. Subscribe to newsletters or notifications.
3. Decide in advance which region (e.g. West Coast, East Coast, Mexico) you prefer – it will save you time, money and stress later on.

5. Travel planning: distances, routes and budget

North America is huge – and you really need to factor that into your World Cup 2026 trip. Distances such as Vancouver–Miami or Mexico City–New York easily run to several thousand kilometres. Many routes are realistically only convenient by plane.

My personal approach to your World Cup trip

• Choose one main region, for example:
  • West Coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Vancouver)
  • East Coast (New York/New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami)
  • Mexico + Southern USA (Mexico City + Texas)
• Plan 2–3 host cities that combine well in terms of distance and connections.
• Build in deliberate non-stadium days to explore cities and nature.

If you like, you can later expand this article with your own section such as “2-week East Coast itinerary” or “10 days in Mexico & Texas” – that’s great both for SEO and readers who want concrete route suggestions.

6. World Cup 2026 & extreme sports: combining football and adrenaline

Now for the fun bit for adventure fans: you can easily combine your World Cup 2026 journey with extreme sports travel destinations.

A few examples:

• Vancouver & Whistler (Canada): After a match in Vancouver, you can be in one of the world’s most famous mountain bike and ski regions in no time.
• California (US West Coast): Matches in Los Angeles pair perfectly with surfing, paragliding or climbing.
• Mexico’s mountains & coasts: From Guadalajara or Monterrey, you can reach climbing areas, volcano hikes and canyoning spots in stunning landscapes.

I’ve planned/written a dedicated article that focuses purely on the adventure side:

👉 Related article:
Extreme sports travel destinations

In that post, you’ll find details on:

• which spots to aim for,
• how challenging the activities are,
• and how to fit them into your World Cup match schedule.

7. Sustainability & criticism: what to keep in mind

As big and fascinating as World Cup 2026 is, there are critical aspects too:

• Because of the many venues and long flight routes, the tournament’s carbon footprint is expected to be very high.
• Studies and experts also warn that some host cities could face heat issues in summer – even with later kick-off times.

If sustainability matters to you, there are several things you can do:

• Limit yourself to a few host cities that are geographically close together.
• Check whether train or coach is a realistic alternative to flying for mid-range distances.
• Choose accommodation that supports local providers and uses resources responsibly.

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