FIFA World Cup 2026 | Beginner Questions on Hosts, Format and Major Results

The hosts were Canada, Mexico and the United States. It was a joint hosting by three countries of the Americas, but Brazil and Costa Rica were not among them.

The 2026 tournament was the first men's World Cup with 48 teams, expanded from the 32-team format used through 2022. It should not be confused with the 104 matches.

The tournament comprised 104 matches in all. The figure 48 is the number of teams and 16 the number of host cities, not the match total.

There were 16 host cities across Canada, Mexico and the United States. The figure 3 is the number of host countries, not cities.

The tournament opened on June 11, 2026 and the final was played on July 19. July 18 was the day of the third-place match.

The opening match was played at Mexico City Stadium on June 11. New York New Jersey Stadium was the venue for the final.

In the opening match, hosts Mexico beat South Africa 2-0. South Korea v Czechia was played the same day but was not the opening fixture.

The final was played at New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19. Mexico City staged the opening match and Miami the third-place match.

Spain beat Argentina in the final to take the title, with Argentina runners-up. England and France contested the third-place match.

It was goalless after 90 minutes and Spain scored the only goal in extra time to win 1-0. It did not go to penalties.

The winning goal was scored by Ferran Torres. Rodri was named player of the tournament but did not score in the final.

The Spain men's team first won in 2010, making 2026 their second title. The women's team's record does not count toward this total.

Rodri, who anchored the midfield of the winners Spain, took the Golden Ball. Mbappé won the Golden Boot.

France's Kylian Mbappé finished as top scorer with 10. Messi scored eight, and Bellingham and Haaland seven each.

Spain's goalkeeper Unai Simón won the Golden Glove, keeping clean sheets in seven of the tournament's eight matches.

The award went to the center-back Pau Cubarsí, not to his fellow young Spaniard Lamine Yamal.

England beat France in the third-place match to finish third. France were fourth and Argentina runners-up.

England won 6-4 in a match with ten goals between the two sides. This was the score during the match, not a shoot-out.

Bukayo Saka scored three. Bellingham and Rice also scored, but not hat-tricks.

Spain drew 0-0 with Cape Verde in their opening match and won all seven matches thereafter. They beat Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Portugal.