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 could make their debut). The winner of that match will take on the Democratic Republic of Congo in the final to see who fills the last spot in Group K.

Pathway 2: Bolivia plays Suriname (the latter could make their debut). The winner of that match will take on Iraq in the final to see who fills the last spot in Group I.

Like the UEFA matches, the inter-confederation playoffs will take place on March 26, with the finals also taking place on March 31. That means by April, we will know all 48 participating teams.

All the IC Pathway 1 and 2 semi-final and final games are being played in Mexico.

Where will the World Cup matches take place?

There are 16 cities that will host World Cup matches this year across America, Canada and Mexico.

Included is Los Angeles, where SoFi Stadium will host eight matches — including USMNT’s opener against Paraguay on June 12 and their third match against the yet-to-be-determined European team, which, as learned earlier, will be Slovakia, Kosovo, Romania or Türkiye.

Also playing at SoFi are Iran (tentatively; read below), New Zealand, Switzerland, Belgium and one of the yet-to-qualify European teams. In addition, two Round of 32 matches will be held there, as will the quarterfinal.

Of the 16 selected cities, 11 are in the U.S., three are in Mexico and two are in Canada. It should be noted that FIFA will be using generic, city-based stadium names as opposed to their corporate sponsor names. For example, SoFi Stadium will be known as “Los Angeles Stadium” during the tournament, and AT&T Stadium in Dallas will be known as “Dallas Stadium,” and so on.

New York/New Jersey: MetLife Stadium

Atlanta: Mercedes-Benz Arena

Kansas City: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium

San Francisco Bay Area: Levi’s Stadium

Los Angeles: SoFi Stadium

Philadelphia: Lincoln Financial Field

Boston: Gillette Stadium

Miami: Hard Rock Stadium

Mexico City: Estadio Banorte

Monterrey: Estadio BBVA

Guadalajara: Estadio Akron

The World Cup final will take place at MetLife Stadium in the New York City metro area on July 19.

World Cup controversies: What is going on?

There are several controversies surrounding this year’s World Cup.

One of the main ones revolves around the international community coming to the U.S. to see their countries play. President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration has some potential visitors confused and concerned that they may not even be allowed in. There are 39 countries on the White House’s travel ban list — 19 of which are under the “full suspension” category, meaning that the entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants has been halted completely.

There are two countries on that list that have made the World Cup: Haiti and Iran. Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal are under a “partial suspension,” which bars entry of immigrants as well as certain classes of nonimmigrants.

U.S. officials warn Americans to not travel to Haiti due to “kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited health care,” and entry into the United States of nationals of Haiti as immigrants and nonimmigrants was fully suspended in June 2025.

Iran, on the other hand, has had strained relations with the U.S. for decades, and the recent military action by American and Israeli forces has put the country’s World Cup participation in jeopardy.

Team Melli, as Iran’s national team is known, is widely regarded as one of the best teams in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and they made it to the World Cup by finishing first in the AFC third round World Cup qualifiers. They have played in six of the last eight tournaments.

This year, they are scheduled to play two matches against Belgium and New Zealand in Los Angeles — home to the largest Persian population outside of Iran — and one in Seattle against Egypt. Their base camp is set to be in Tuscon, Arizona.

In the wake of the strikes by the U.S.-Israeli coalition — and retaliatory strikes from Iranian forces — there have been concern that Iran will drop out of the tournament. On Saturday, shortly after the military action began, FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom said at the International Football Association Board’s annual general meeting in Cardiff, Wales, that officials were aware of what is going on, adding that it was “premature to comment in detail” about what future plans are.

“We will monitor developments around all issues around the world,” Grafstrom said, per ESPN. “We had the finals draw in Washington in which all teams participated, and our focus is on a safe World Cup with all the teams participating. We will continue to communicate as we always do with three [host] governments as we always do in any case. Everybody will be safe.”

Mehdi Taj, the president of Iran’s soccer federation, did not express the same sentiment the following day.

“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Mehdi Taj told sports portal Varzesh3, according to reports from the Associated Press.

Since Iran’s place is in doubt, there are already murmurs of a contingency plan that would see neighboring Iraq take their place.

“Should Iran pull out, the likely replacement from Asia should be Iraq or the United Arab Emirates,” the Associated Press reported. “Iraq and the UAE were effectively the ninth and 10th-ranked Asian teams through the various qualifying groups and advanced to a two-leg playoff last November.

“One possible element of uncertainty is the language of the World Cup tournament rules,” AP noted. “FIFA wrote that it can decide to replace a withdrawn team ‘with another association,’ though without specifying the replacement must come from the same continental confederation.”

Should Iraq take the place of Iran, it is not clear who would take Iraq’s place in the inter-confederation playoffs; however, if FIFA was to pick a team from the same confederation, it would likely be the UAE.

Regardless of whether Iran plays or not, fans from across the globe will be descending upon the U.S., Canada and Mexico for the World Cup; preliminary projections indicate up to 6.5 million people could attend. Thus, American federal officials have introduced the FIFA PASS visa, a special visa that gives those who purchase tickets directly from FIFA and who opt in to FIFA PASS the chance to interview for a B1/B2 visitor visa before the tournament begins.

Citizens of countries subject to Proclamation 10998 on Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals can still apply for a FIFA PASS, but the visa will not override current travel bans.

The human rights group Amnesty International says that the tournament “poses major risks for fans, workers and athletes,” and posited that the Sport & Rights Alliance “has identified several critical areas where government policies in the 2026 host countries, particularly the United States under President Donald Trump, pose significant and immediate risks to the human rights of immigrants, freedom of the press and free expression, LGBTQ+ rights, safety for children and the right to be free from discrimination.”

Those issues require “urgent and transparent intervention,” Amnesty International says.

There have been some movements to boycott the World Cup this year, but as The Athletic reports, those calls “have not gained meaningful traction in circles that matter.”

On another non-immigration related note, controversy arose at the World Cup draw in December when President Trump was awarded the new FIFA Peace Prize by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a close ally of the president. Many in the international community criticized the decision, with some FIFA officials allegedly showing “embarrassment” at the award show, according to media reports.

The criteria for winning the FIFA Peace Prize isn’t exactly clear.

U.S. Men’s National Team: What is the World Cup outlook?

As co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup, the U.S. Men’s National Team qualified automatically, as did Canada and Mexico. Considered one of the better teams in CONCACAF, (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) The Stars and Stripes have played in 11 previous World Cups, with the best finish, third place, coming at the first-ever one in 1930.

The third place finish in the 1930 tournament, hosted in Uruguay, is the best result by a CONCACAF team and makes the U.S. the only non-European or South American team to achieve a World Cup podium finish. 

In the 96 years that have passed, the U.S. has not gotten back to those heights, although in 2002 they reached the quarterfinals. More recently, USMNT’s performances at the World Cup have been relatively up-and-down; in 2014’s tournament in Brazil, the U.S. was placed into the “Group of Death” with Germany, Portugal and Ghana and was expected to bow out early, but they found surprise success, qualifying for the Round of 16 where they would end up losing to Belgium despite goalkeeper Tim Howard making a World Cup-record 15 saves.

That performance was not replicated at the next World Cup, held in Russia in 2018. In fact, there was no performance at all — USMNT failed to qualify for the tournament for the first time since 1986 after a shock 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago. Then-head coach Bruce Arena resigned shortly after the match.

In 2022, the U.S. made the World Cup and was drawn to Group B with England, Wales and Iran. A win against Iran (only the third time the U.S. and Iran have ever played) and two draws against Wales and England got them into the knockout stage, where they lost to the Netherlands.

In other major international tournaments since then, the U.S. has won one (the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League) and was eliminated early from another (2024 Copa América).

This year’s tournament will feature the USMNT’s “golden generation” in the primes of their careers, exciting American fans. Leading the charge is Christian Pulisic, known as “Captain America,” who plays for Italian side AC Milan. Last season, he was their top scorer with 17 goals as they won the Supercoppa Italia over their city rivals Inter Milan. He also made the Serie A Team of the Season for the second time.

Of course, it’s a team sport, and Pulisic can’t do it all as a winger, although he sure does try. His partner on the wing will likely be Timothy Weah, the son of George Weah, one of the best African soccer players and to this day the only African to win the Ballon D’Or, an award given to the best soccer player of the year. The younger Weah currently plays for Marseille in France.

Another second-generation baller who plays for the U.S. is Gio Reyna, the son of former USMNT midfielder Claudio Reyna. After a five-year spell at one of Germany’s biggest clubs, Borussia Dortmund, he joined fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach at the beginning of this season. Other notable American attackers that will surely look for the back of the net this summer are Leeds United’s Brenden Aaronson, Coventry City’s Haji Wright and Monaco’s Folarin Balogun.

Two now-seasoned midfielders will help anchor things in the middle of the field: Weston McKennie of Juventus and Tyler Adams of AFC Bournemouth. Both have found success, starting consistently for their teams — McKennie for one of the most successful teams in Italy’s history and Adams for a team competing for a top spot in the world’s best domestic league, the Premier League in England. An up-and-coming midfielder to watch out for is Johnny Cardoso, who recently joined Atlético Madrid in Spain.

At the back, the U.S. has two very strong fullbacks in Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson, who play for Dutch side PSV Eindhoven and Premier League team Fulham, respectively. At center back, Alabama native Chris Richards has been having a standout season at Crystal Palace, another Premier League team, and he helped Palace win their first-ever trophy last season.

Finally, in between the posts, there will likely be some competition for the starting spot. Most recently, the likes of Matt Turner (New England Revolution); Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids) and Matt Freese (New York City FC) have started, but it is not known who will be first choice come June.

The U.S. will be coached by Argentine manager Mauricio Pochettino, who took over for Gregg Berhalter in 2024. He previously coached some of Europe’s biggest and most popular clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, and his experience and leadership has American fans hoping they will translate to wins.

Who is the favorite to win it all?

Several of the world’s best teams are among the favorites to win the 2026 World Cup. Most oddsmakers have Spain as the favorite, followed by France, Argentina and Germany. Each of them have won at least one World Cup in the modern era: Spain in 2010, Germany in 2014, France in 2018 and Argentina in 2022.

Also expected to make a deep run is England, which has a strong generation of young talent looking to break the country’s long trophy drought. Other contenders include Brazil and Portugal.

The U.S., which will have one of their most talented rosters in recent memory at this year’s tournament, is expected to make a deep run, as are the other co-hosts.

However, the magic of the World Cup is sure to provide some upsets. In recent years, smaller countries have played the role of giant-slayer on the world’s stage, including Costa Rica, Croatia and Morocco.

Regardless of who you root for, it’s all shaping up to be one of the most intense, interesting and potentially world-altering World Cup ever.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

GOP Sen. Thom Tillis unleashes on Noem: ‘Time after time, I’ve been ...

Live updates: Trump says US will escort tankers through Strait of ...

Noem faces GOP heat over $220M ad that boosted ‘your name recognition’

Trump knocks Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly over Iran criticism: ‘MAGA is ...

‘Breathtaking’: Independent senator deplores Rubio’s explanation for Iran ...

John Bolton says Hegseth needs ‘attitude adjustment’ after Iran briefing

Speaker Johnson pushes against war powers resolution: ‘Frightening’

Democrat mocks Mullin for remarks on ‘smell’ and ‘taste’ of ...

Texas voters set to deliver verdict in competitive Senate primaries 

Trump says ‘worst case scenario’ in Iran is new leader worse than Khamenei

Pentagon stuns Silicon Valley with Anthropic ban

Trump lambasts UK’s Starmer, Spain over Iran

Zinke announces he won’t seek reelection

TSA moves to center of shutdown drama as jittery lawmakers offer warnings for ...

Trump shifting goals, expectations for Iran war: dangerous! 

Key GOP senator criticizes Pentagon strategy in Colby hearing 

Nancy Mace under investigation by House Ethics Committee

Trump administration push to end Manhattan congestion pricing illegal, judge ...

© The Hill