FIFA World Cup — Schedule, Teams & How to Watch

The tournament runs June 11 through July 19 — 39 days from the opener in Mexico City to the final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Here’s how the stages break down, including the new Round of 32 that didn’t exist in previous editions.

These are the questions fans are actually searching for right now — kickoff logistics, the confusing new format, what tickets cost after the price drama, and every legitimate free way to watch.

• 1
  When is the World Cup and where is the final? June 11 – July 19 · 39 days, 104 matches, 16 host cities · Final: July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium (MetLife), 3 p.m. ET

  The tournament opened June 11 at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca — the storied venue now hosting its third World Cup opening — and runs five and a half weeks to the final on Sunday, July 19, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, rebranded “New York New Jersey Stadium” for the tournament. (FIFA renamed every venue after its host city to block ambush marketing, which is why you’ll hear “Los Angeles Stadium” instead of SoFi on broadcasts.) Eleven U.S. cities — Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle — carry most of the load, with Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey in Mexico, and Toronto and Vancouver in Canada. From the quarterfinals on, every match is on U.S. soil. Kickoff times span early afternoon to late night Eastern to serve global audiences, so check listings rather than assuming a fixed slot.
• 2
  How does the new 48-team format work? 12 groups of 4 · Top 2 from each group advance plus the 8 best third-place teams · New Round of 32 starts the knockouts · Ties in knockouts: 30 minutes extra time, then penalties

  The expansion from 32 to 48 teams reshaped the whole bracket. The group stage now has twelve groups of four instead of eight, and qualification got more forgiving: both the winner and runner-up of every group advance automatically, and the eight best third-place finishers across all groups join them — meaning 32 of the 48 teams reach the knockouts, and a team can survive a stumble that would have eliminated it in past tournaments. That creates the brand-new Round of 32, the first extra knockout round in World Cup history, before the familiar Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. Knockout ties get two 15-minute extra-time periods, then a penalty shootout. One viewer’s tip on the third-place wrinkle: a team’s fate often isn’t settled until the very last group games elsewhere finish, so “eliminated” teams sometimes aren’t — keep watching before you write your team off.
• 3
  What channel is the World Cup on in the U.S.? English: every match on FOX and FS1 · Spanish: every match on Telemundo (92 games) and Universo (12) · A record 70+ matches on the main FOX broadcast network — free with an antenna

  Fox holds exclusive English-language U.S. rights and is putting a record number of matches — more than 70, including over a third of the tournament in prime time — on its main broadcast network, which means a basic TV antenna picks them up free in most of the country. The remainder of English coverage airs on FS1, available through cable and every major live-TV streaming service. On the Spanish side, NBCUniversal’s Telemundo carries 92 of the 104 matches over the air (also antenna-free), with the other 12 on cable channel Universo. The practical translation: if you have either cable or a $25 antenna, you already have most of this World Cup in at least one language. The matches you’d miss without cable are the FS1 and Universo games — that’s where the streaming options in the next answer come in.
• 4
  How can I stream the World Cup — including for free? Free: antenna (FOX/Telemundo), Tubi simulcasts of select early matches, and free trials (YouTube TV 21 days, FOX One 7 days) · Paid: FOX One ~$20/mo (English), Peacock Premium ~$11/mo (Spanish, all 104 games)

  Cord-cutters have more legitimate free routes than usual this cycle. Fox’s free ad-supported service Tubi is simulcasting the opening ceremony and select early matches — including Mexico–South Africa and USA–Paraguay — at no charge with just a sign-in. An over-the-air antenna delivers every FOX-network match and Telemundo’s 92 games free, forever. And the free-trial math is unusually generous: YouTube TV’s roughly three-week trial covers a huge slice of the group stage, with FOX One, Fubo, and DirecTV offering shorter trials that can be sequenced around the matches you care about. On the paid side, the cleanest single subscriptions are FOX One (about $20/month, every match in English, live and on-demand) and Peacock Premium (about $11/month, every match in Spanish — the cheapest way to legally stream all 104 games). Full live-TV bundles like YouTube TV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, and DirecTV carry all four channels but run $56–$90/month after promos.
• 5
  How much do World Cup tickets cost — and are any still affordable? FIFA’s dynamic pricing drew global backlash for sky-high costs · Under pressure, FIFA cut some prices — select seats, even for the final, released around $60 · Buy ONLY through FIFA’s official channels

  Tickets became the tournament’s biggest controversy before a ball was kicked. FIFA priced this World Cup with demand-based “dynamic” pricing, and costs for marquee matches climbed to levels that drew worldwide criticism from fan groups. The backlash worked, at least partially: FIFA released batches of cheaper tickets, with some seats — including for the final itself — offered around $60, though availability at those prices is limited and moves fast. Three rules protect your wallet. First, buy only through FIFA’s official ticket portal at fifa.com/tickets; this tournament is a magnet for counterfeit and scam resales, and unofficial tickets can be cancelled at the gate. Second, check the official resale platform regularly — legitimate returned tickets reappear throughout the tournament, especially for group games in bigger stadiums. Third, consider less glamorous group matches in nearby cities: the gap between a “small” World Cup match and a famous one is far narrower in person than the price difference suggests.
• 6
  What is the U.S. team’s schedule and who’s in their group? Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia, Türkiye · June 12 vs Paraguay (Los Angeles, 9 p.m. ET) · June 19 vs Australia (Seattle) · June 25 vs Türkiye (Los Angeles)

  The U.S. men’s team, coached by Mauricio Pochettino and led by Christian Pulisic, drew a manageable Group D and plays its entire group stage on the West Coast: Paraguay tonight, June 12, in Inglewood at 9 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. local, on FOX, Telemundo, and free on Tubi), Australia on June 19 in Seattle, and Türkiye back in Los Angeles on June 25. As a host nation seeded in the top pot, the U.S. avoided the giants in its group, and the team arrived on a confident run of form, unbeaten through the back stretch of its warm-up schedule. Finish top two — or even third with a decent record under the new format — and a home-soil knockout run opens up, exactly the scenario the tournament’s planners dreamed of. Co-hosts have their own storylines too: Mexico already won the tournament opener at the Azteca, and Canada begins in Toronto against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• 7
  Who are the favorites — and who’s the defending champion? Argentina defends the title it won in Qatar · Brazil holds the most championships with five · France, Spain, England, and Portugal headline the chasing pack · Host teams historically overperform

  Argentina arrives as the reigning champion from the 2022 tournament in Qatar, with Lionel Messi’s supporting cast having evolved but the team’s pedigree intact. Brazil — winners a record five times — landed in Group C alongside Morocco, Scotland, and Haiti, and as ever carries the weight of a nation expecting a sixth star. Europe’s heavyweights round out most short lists: France with its extraordinary depth, Spain’s possession machine, England’s golden-generation talent still chasing a first title since 1966, and Portugal in the post-peak-Ronaldo transition. Then there’s the host factor, one of soccer’s most reliable patterns — home nations consistently outperform expectations at World Cups, buoyed by crowds and familiar conditions, which makes Mexico, the U.S., and Canada legitimate dark-horse stories rather than sentimental ones. The expanded field also widens the door for a surprise deep run; with eight third-place teams advancing, an unfancied side that catches form can suddenly find itself two wins from a semifinal.
• 8
  I’m new to soccer — what do I need to know to enjoy this? Group games can tie; knockout games can’t · 90 minutes + stoppage time · The magic is in the stakes: most of these players get one or two World Cups in a lifetime

  You need surprisingly little. Matches run two 45-minute halves plus a few minutes of “stoppage time” the referee adds for delays — when the clock passes 45:00 or 90:00, that’s why play continues. In the group stage, ties are normal results worth one point each (wins are three); in the knockout rounds, ties trigger 30 minutes of extra time and then the drama of a penalty shootout. Don’t worry about mastering offside on day one — the broadcast will tell you when it matters. What makes the World Cup gripping even for newcomers is the scarcity: it happens once every four years, careers are short, and you can see in the players’ faces that most will get only one or two chances at this in a lifetime. Pick a team — heritage, a player you like, or pure underdog appeal all work — because watching with a rooting interest transforms the experience. And the time zones are finally on your side: this is the rare World Cup where the biggest matches air in American prime time instead of 6 a.m.

Use the buttons below to find places to watch, celebrate, and gear up near you — from soccer bars showing every match to official fan festival sites in host cities.