Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.AllNewsSportCultureLifestyleThe 2026 World Cup kicks off this week with a new format for Fifa’s giant 48-team tournament (Getty)The 2026 World Cup kicks off this week with a new format for Fifa’s giant 48-team tournament.Thursday (local time) sees Mexico play South Africa, while South Korea goes head-to-head with the Czech Republic.On Friday, Group B’s Canada takes on Bosnia & Herzegovina, while the USA plays Paraguay.Looking ahead to the weekend, on Saturday, Qatar will challenge Switzerland, Brazil takes on Morocco, Haiti plays Scotland and Group D’s Australia goes up against Turkey. Rounding up the first week, on Sunday, Germany plays Curacao, the Netherlands takes on Japan, the Ivory Coast goes head-to-head with Ecuador and Sweden face Tunisia. In fullWorld Cup 2026 fixtures: Full schedule, kick-off times and groupsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
World Cup fixtures: Which teams are playing this week
Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.AllNewsSportCultureLifestyleThe 2026 World Cup kicks off this week with a new format for Fifa’s giant 48-team tournament (Getty)The 2026 World Cup kicks off this week with a new format for Fifa’s giant 48-team tournament.Thursday (local time) sees Mexico play South Africa, while South Korea goes head-to-head with the Czech Republic.On Friday, Group B’s Canada takes on Bosnia & Herzegovina, while the USA plays Paraguay.Looking ahead to the weekend, on Saturday, Qatar will challenge Switzerland, Brazil takes on Morocco, Haiti plays Scotland and Group D’s Australia goes up against Turkey. Rounding up the first week, on Sunday, Germany plays Curacao, the Netherlands takes on Japan, the Ivory Coast goes head-to-head with Ecuador and Sweden face Tunisia. In fullWorld Cup 2026 fixtures: Full schedule, kick-off times and groupsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
