By: Noah Gloege

National/World Editor 

In the summer of 2026, the United States, Canada, and Mexico will host the FIFA World Cup. This tournament will be the largest World Cup in history, with 48 nations participating, up from the usual 32. On Dec. 5, the draw took place in Washington, D.C., to decide the teams in each group.  There will be 12 groups, each with four teams, from nations that recently qualified for the tournament. In previous years, there has always been a so-called “group of death”; however, in the upcoming games, there does not seem to be a difficult group. 

The first game will be at the famous Estadio Azteca in Mexico City between South Africa and Mexico. The United States will face off against Paraguay, Australia, and either Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, or Kosovo. Local host stadium, Levi’s Stadium, will host six matches this summer. The matches in Santa Clara will be Qatar vs. Switzerland and Austria vs. Jordan, along with a few other games. However, many are most excited by the round of 16 match-up, as the United States may play in the Bay Area if they win their respective group. 

Several new nations have qualified for the tournament, and among them is Curaçao, the smallest country ever to qualify. This small Caribbean country will not be the only first-timer, as Uzbekistan, Cape Verde, and Jordan will also come to the Americas. Additionally, Haiti and South Africa will return following long absences from the World Cup.  Many fans speculate that the favorites to win the tournament are either England, France, Spain, or Portugal, or that Argentina will win it for the second consecutive time, following their triumph in Qatar in 2022. 

So far, the World Cup has sparked a lot of debate, including host cities, ticket prices, and public transportation. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New Jersey are unsafe and wants to relocate World Cup games to safer cities. Only FIFA can relocate these games, so the final decision is still uncertain. However, many individuals have already bought tickets for games in these cities. 

Many are also confused about the prices of these tickets, as the cheapest tickets were originally about 5,000 dollars per person but have since dropped in price. Another point of discussion is the use of public transportation to and from these stadiums. Officials are already speculating that the stadiums and cities may not be ready for the hundreds of thousands of supporters flooding their limited metro systems. During the recent European Championship in Germany, countries like Scotland and the Netherlands took over the streets, and the United States will likely see similar scenes over the summer.  Officials believe that a lack of public transportation in some of these cities may lead to mass chaos.  However, despite all these points of debate, the 2026 World Cup will most definitely be a historic tournament to remember. 

(Sources: BBC, The Athletic, The Independent)