FIFA World Cup 2026

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is one of the most highly anticipated events in the sporting calendar. Amongst the biggest sports events in the world, the World Cup never fails to capture the imagination of viewers and bettors alike.

In this guide, we’re going to take a look at what we can expect for the 2026 edition of football’s World Cup, how this edition will work and provide you with the World Cup 2026 schedule. We’ll also show you where bettors in Malaysia can place wagers on the tournament, along with how you can watch every game.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the 23rd edition of this famous competition. 2026 sees 48 countries taking part, which in turn increases the number of matches that will be played to 104. It will take place between June 11th and July 19th.

The 2026 World Cup is taking place in North America. The majority of games will be played in the United States, with Canada and Mexico hosting matches in two and three cities respectively.

In this section, we’re going to look in detail at the changes that have been made for this edition, along with host cities, venues, qualified teams and how the World Cup will work in 2026.

What’s New in World Cup 2026?

The 2026 edition has seen an increase in the number of teams competing. There will be 48 teams taking part in World Cup 2026, rather than 32, the number of teams that took part in the previous seven editions of the tournament.

With an increase in teams there is, of course, an increase in the number of matches that will be played in 2026. There will be 104 matches taking place across the 39 days of the tournament.

In addition, there is a new Round of 32 for the World Cup 2026. The top two sides in each Group will qualify for the Round of 32, along with the eight best third-placed sides.

Organizers and Venue

In co-hosting, Mexico have become the first country in World Cup history to host, or co-host, the tournament three times. While the USA have hosted the event before, with their last hosting duties coming in 1994, this is Canada’s first ever hosting of this prestigious event.

As hosts, all three countries were given automatic qualification into the World Cup Group Stage.

You can find all host cities in the table below.

FIFA World Cup 2026 Stadiums

There are 16 stadiums that will host FIFA World Cup matches in 2026. The AT&T Stadium, home of NFL side Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, will host more matches than any other stadium with 9. The World Cup Final, taking place on July 19th, will be held at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

WC26 Tournament Format

There are 48 teams from six confederations taking part in the FIFA World Cup 2026. These 48 sides will be split into 12 groups of 4, Group A to Group L. At the time of writing, the Groups are yet to be finalised as we await the outcome of many of the qualification rounds.

The top two teams in each Group will automatically qualify for the Round of 32. The eight best third-ranked teams will make up the rest of the 32 teams.

If two or more sides finish the Group Stage on the same number of points, their ranking within the group is decided by the Head to Head record between the affected sides, starting with which side achieved the most points against the other. If this number is the same, we move onto goal difference between the affected sides in the Group Stage, followed by the most goals scored.

If the teams still can’t be separated by the above criteria, the order will be decided by goal difference in all Group matches, followed by the most goals scored in all Group matches. Conduct, or Fair Play, score is then considered.

If, in the extremely unlikely scenario where the above can’t separate teams, the side with the higher position in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking will be placed higher.

The following teams have already qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026. We’re still awaiting the qualification results from some Confederations, including UEFA as the European qualifying process is yet to be completed.

• AFC - Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan
• CAF - Morocco, Tunisia
• CONCACAF - Canada, Mexico, United States
• CONMEBOL - Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
• OFC - New Zealand

FIFA World Cup Qualifications

Teams from six Confederations will take part in the World Cup 2026. The format of the Qualification tournaments vary, with each Confederation allowed to decide how their individual Qualification process works, subject to approval from FIFA.

Via each Qualification tournament, teams can qualify for the World Cup 2026. For the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and OFC Confederations, teams that don’t qualify for the Finals automatically can claim a place in the Inter-Confederation play-offs. These playoffs will also be held in North America, in March 2026.

The Group Stage of the FIFA World Cup will begin on June 11th 2026 and finish on June 27th. The Round of 32 starts on June 28th, finishing on July 3rd, with the Round of 16 matches beginning on July 4th and ending on July 7th.

The Quarter Finals start the following day, on July 8th, with the remaining Quarter Finals on July 9th and 10th. The Semi Finals take place on July 14th and 15th. The Third Place match is on July 18th.

The 2026 World Cup Final takes place at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19th.

At the time of writing, there are 17 teams whose qualification to World Cup 2026 has already been confirmed. The draw for the Group Stage will be held on December 5th, but the host nations have already been allocated their Group.

Mexico have been placed into Group A, Canada into Group B and the USA into Group D.

Alongside the hosts, the teams who have already secured qualification are as follows:

• Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan
• Oceania: New Zealand
• South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Paraguay
• Africa: Morocco, Tunisia

The 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup marks the first time either Uzbekistan or Jordan have qualified.

Malaysia have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup tournament. Their qualification into the Second Round for the AFC World Cup Qualifiers is the closest they’ve come to achieving qualification for the World Cup Finals.

Malaysia were given a bye into the AFC Second Round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualification. They finished in third place, just a point behind second-placed Kyrgyzstan, who took the last Third Round Qualification spot in Group D.

Unfortunately, Malaysia were unable to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Malaysia finished third in their Group in the AFC second round, which acted as a qualification tournament for the World Cup.

As they were ranked in the top 26 countries, Malaysia received a bye into the Second Round Qualifying Stage. They were entered into Group D, alongside Oman, Kyrgyzstan and Chinese Taipei.

The Qualification process began with a pulsating match against Kyrgyzstan in which Malaysia won 4-3. Two goals from Dion-Johan Chai Cools and an own goal by Kyrgyzstan’s Kristiyan Brauzman was added to deep into injury time with a winner from Faisal.

Malaysia also won their next qualifying fixture, with a goal from Darren Lok Yee Deng enough to beat Chinese Taipei 1-0. However, Malaysia then lost their next two with two successive 2-0 defeats at the hands of Oman.

The following game against Kyrgyzstan finished in a 1-1 draw. The final game of qualification came against Chinese Taipei and while Malaysia ran out 3-1 winners, this wasn’t enough for a spot in the Third Qualifying Round.

As one of sports’ biggest competitions, bettors in Malaysia will have a variety of excellent online bookmakers who will be offering odds and markets on the FIFA World Cup 2026. Outright betting is available, along with individual match markets.

Odds for the FIFA World Cup will be available at all of the top bookmakers in Malaysia. The best sites have offered a range of odds and markets during the Qualification stages, and they’ll do the same for the tournament proper.

Outright odds are a popular way to bet on the World Cup. There are a variety of Outright odds available, including Tournament Winner, Group Winner and Top Goalscorer.

Individual match markets are plentiful. Alongside the popular Match Winner market, you can expect to find a ton of other options, including Handicap markets, Both Teams To Score, Total Goals and Correct Score.

While official broadcasters of the FIFA World Cup 2026 have been confirmed for many countries, there’s no official channel yet stated for viewers in Malaysia. Bettors may have the opportunity to watch World Cup matches live directly from their online bookmaker if they offer a live streaming service.