Tuesday marks 100 days until the FIFA World Cup: Essential things you should know 

(KTLA) – The 2026 FIFA World Cup is inching closer and closer! 

Tuesday marks 100 days until the first match between Mexico and South Africa, which will take place at the Estadio Banorte in Mexico City on June 11. This year’s opener involves the same two teams that kicked off the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. 

There are several key differences between this year’s tournament – co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico – and the 2022 FIFA World Cup that was hosted in Qatar and won by Argentina, the main one being the participation of more teams: this summer, 48 nations will compete, as opposed to 32, meaning there will be a total of 104 games over 39 days.

The addition of 16 teams means that there were more opportunities for countries to make their World Cup debuts, and indeed, there are four nations who will play on the world’s stage for the first time: Curaçao, Uzbekistan, Jordan and Cape Verde. Two other teams in the qualification playoffs, Suriname and New Caledonia, could also make their debuts if they win out.

The U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) was drawn to Group D, which includes Paraguay, Australia and a third team that has yet to qualify. 

Continue reading to see who the third team could be, and for other facets of the World Cup you should know as the tournament approaches. 

The World Cup draw, held in December, split the participating countries into 12 groups of four. Half of the groups have all four teams, but there are still six groups that have an open spot:

Group A: Mexico (co-host), South Africa, South Korea, UEFA Path D winner

Group B: Canada (co-host), UEFA Path A winner, Qatar, Switzerland

Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland

Group D: United States (co-host), Paraguay, Australia, UEFA Path C winner

Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador

Group F: Netherlands, Japan, UEFA Path B winner, Tunisia

Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand

Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay

Group I: France, Senegal, Inter-confederation Path 2 winner, Norway

Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan

Group K: Portugal, Inter-confederation Path 1 winner, Uzbekistan, Colombia

Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama

As mentioned before, there are still six berths in the World Cup up for grabs. Four of them will be filled by UEFA (European) countries who will participate in a play-off tournament to determine who comes to the Western Hemisphere this summer, and who stays home.

Each UEFA Path has four teams that will play each other in a semi-final match, and the winners of those two games will then play each other in a final. Whoever is victorious in the finals qualifies for the World Cup.

You can view the UEFA paths below:

Path A: Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Northern Ireland Wales plays Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy plays Northern Ireland. The winners of those two matches will play each other in the final to see who fills the last spot in Group B.

Wales plays Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy plays Northern Ireland. The winners of those two matches will play each other in the final to see who fills the last spot in Group B.

Path B: Ukraine, Sweden, Albania, Poland Ukraine plays Sweden and Albania plays Poland. The winners of those two matches will play each other in the final to see who fills the last spot in Group F.

Ukraine plays Sweden and Albania plays Poland. The winners of those two matches will play each other in the final to see who fills the last spot in Group F.

Path C: Slovakia, Kosovo, Romania, Türkiye Slovakia plays Kosovo and Romania plays Türkiye. The winners of those two matches will play each other in the final to see who fills the last spot in Group D, which will pit them against the United States.

Slovakia plays Kosovo and Romania plays Türkiye. The winners of those two matches will play each other in the final to see who fills the last spot in Group D, which will pit them against the United States.

Path D: Czechia, Republic of Ireland, Denmark, North Macedonia Czechia plays Ireland and Denmark plays North Macedonia. The winners of those two matches will play each other in the final to see who fills the last spot in Group A.

Czechia plays Ireland and Denmark plays North Macedonia. The winners of those two matches will play each other in the final to see who fills the last spot in Group A.

The first matches will be played on March 26, with the finals occurring five days later.

In addition to the four UEFA spots left, there are also two inter-confederation playoff berths up for grabs. The teams participating in this qualifying round finished among the finalists in their respective confederations (which are broken up by continent/region) but failed to qualify directly.

There are two paths, IC Pathway 1 and IC Pathway 2. The teams vying for the two spots are:

Pathway 1: New Caledonia plays Jamaica (the former........

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