In-depth football guides and original World Cup 2026 coverage — written, not scraped. See also our daily What to Watch Today picks.
Everything you actually need to know about the first 48-team World Cup — three host nations, 104 matches, and a brand-new format explained in plain language.
Group L has a clear frontrunner, a proven tournament giant, and two sides with every reason to believe they can gatecrash the party.
Cristiano Ronaldo's farewell tour meets James Rodríguez's last dance — and two underdogs hoping to crash the party.
Lionel Scaloni's defending champions are the obvious frontrunners, but Austria's rising profile and Algeria's African pedigree make this group more interesting than it looks on paper.
Les Bleus enter as heavy favorites, yet a dangerous African champion and a resurgent Norway make Group I far more interesting than it looks on paper.
Group H has a clear frontrunner, a proven street fighter, and two teams with absolutely nothing to lose — which makes it more dangerous than it looks on paper.
A fading European giant, a disciplined Middle Eastern side, an African heavyweight, and a Pacific underdog walk into a group. Only two walk out.
A seasoned European giant, a resurgent Scandinavian side, an Asian powerhouse, and a gritty African qualifier walk into the same group. Here's how it all shakes out.
A four-time world champion, an African giant, a South American qualifier, and a Caribbean debutant walk into the same bracket. Here's how it plays out.
The host nation carries the weight of expectation, but this group has enough quality and intrigue to produce at least one major surprise.
Five-time world champions Brazil are the obvious frontrunners, but Morocco's proven quality, Scotland's tournament hunger, and Haiti's underdog spirit make Group C far more interesting than it looks on paper.
A host nation hungry to prove itself, a Swiss side built on tournament reliability, a Bosnian program with raw talent and a point to make, and a Qatari team desperate to show 2022 wasn't a fluke — Group B has more intrigue than it might first appear.
A seasoned CONCACAF giant, a technically sharp European side, an Asian powerhouse, and an African nation with a point to prove — Group A has every ingredient for a genuinely unpredictable opening round.
For the first time the World Cup is shared by three countries. Here's what that means for the tournament, the travel and the atmosphere.
Group stage, knockout rounds, the final — and exactly how the calendar flows from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
From the Estadio Azteca's altitude to MetLife's final, a guide to all 16 venues spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
A bigger field, debutant nations and a brand-new knockout round. Here are the themes worth following before a ball is kicked.
Your options for catching all 104 matches in the United States — English and Spanish broadcasts, streaming, and how to follow games on the go.
Free-to-air coverage, late-night kickoffs and how to keep up across the time-zone gap with North America.
A co-host nation with games on home soil in Toronto and Vancouver — here's how to follow every match.
Twelve groups, a round of 32, and eight "best third-placed" teams. Here's the math behind the expanded World Cup — and why the final group games matter more than ever.
A summer tournament across three countries means scorching afternoons, thin mountain air and long-haul travel. Here's how conditions could shape the football.
Level on points? Here's the exact order FIFA uses to separate teams — and how the best-third-placed race is decided in 2026.
Never followed a World Cup before? Here's how to pick a team, understand what's happening, and not feel lost by the second week.
From 13 teams in Uruguay to 48 across three nations — how football's biggest tournament grew into the most-watched event on earth.