The FIFA World Cup is quickly approaching, and the beautiful game's biggest stage is coming to the City of Brotherly Love! Here’s all you need to know about the 2026 edition of the tournament and what it means for fans in Philadelphia.
FIFA World Cup 2026
For the first time since 1994, the World Cup will be hosted in North America, with games taking place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The tournament will begin on June 11th in Estadio Azteca Mexico City and conclude on July 19th at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
For the first time ever, 48 teams will be included in the tournament, which is a significant increase from the field of 32 that competed in Qatar during the 2022 edition. More teams means more action – there will be a total of 104 matches in the tournament. Philadelphia, the birthplace of the United States, is set to host six of them.
The Draw
The Final Draw is set to take place on Friday, December 5th in Washington D.C.. At that point, 48 teams have been placed into four pots, where they will be drawn into 12 groups of four teams. The draw will begin with all the teams from pot 1 being drawn to groups A to L. It will then continue with pots 2, 3 and 4 in that order.
Per FIFA, to ensure competitive balance, two separate pathways to the semi-finals have been established when developing the match schedule. In order to have a balanced distribution of the teams, the four highest-ranked teams in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s Ranking, when drawn, will have the following constraints: the highest-ranked team (Spain) and the second highest-ranked team (Argentina) will be randomly drawn into opposite pathways, and the same principle will apply to the third (France) and fourth (England) highest-ranked teams. This will ensure that, should they win their groups, the two highest-ranked teams will not meet before the final.
Philadelphia Soccer 2026 will celebrate the highly anticipated FIFA World Cup 26™ Final Draw with a free community watch party at Stateside Live! on Friday!
Philadelphia Soccer 2026’s family-friendly watch party event – hosted by legendary Philly sports broadcaster Anthony Gargano – will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and feature giveaways, mascot appearances, local athletes, soccer activations, and more. Fans making their way down to the event will get to visit and meet Union homegrowns Quinn Sullivan and Frankie Westfield at the event.
In addition to the Union duo, the Sons of Ben will be bringing the energy with the Supporters’ Shield on display for an exclusive photo op!
Fans are encouraged to RSVP for the event so join the city of Brotherly Love as we find out the matchups for biggest matches.
Which countries will compete in the City of Brotherly Love, and when?
While the Final Draw is set to take place on Dec. 5th, the official match schedule and venues will be published on Saturday, December 6th. Stay tuned for updates!
Stars and Stripes
Because the United States is a host nation, it has landed in Pot 1, which includes Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany.
The United States Men's National Team has participated in 11 World Cups -- 2026 marks their 12th.
Philadelphia Union connections
One of Philadelphia Union's own has earned a spot in the World Cup with his country. 25-year-old midfielder Danley Jean Jacques played an integral role in helping Haiti qualify for the tournament for the first time in more than 50 years. Les Grenadiers clinched the spot with a 2-0 win over Nicaragua in the final qualifying match, landing in Pot 4.
He's not the only Union connection -- Head Coach Bradley Carnell was part of South Africa's 2002 World Cup team. The South African National Team is nicknamed Bafana Bafana, and they've earned a spot in this year's edition.
Longtime Union team captain Alejandro Bedoya was part of the preliminary 30-man roster for the 2010 World Cup, then made the final roster in 2014, playing in all four of the USMNT's matches. He now hosts a podcast with U.S. Soccer, recently sharing his World Cup and Phialdelphia Union memories on the show.
His co-captain, three time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake, also captains Jamaica. While the Reggae Boyz haven't yet qualified, they have a chance to do so during the FIFA Playoff tournament in March.
