The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins on June 14 with Ecuador facing Ivory Coast at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, a match scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. It’s the first time these two nations have ever met on the World Cup stage.
But the real opener happened five days earlier. On June 9, FIFA announced that Kraken would serve as the tournament’s Official Crypto Exchange Supporter, making it the first cryptocurrency partnership in World Cup history.
The match: what’s at stake on the pitch
Ecuador enters its fifth World Cup appearance looking to finally advance past the group stage in convincing fashion.
Ivory Coast, meanwhile, returns to the World Cup after a 12-year absence. Their last appearance came in 2014, and reaching this tournament represents a significant achievement for a program rebuilding after the departure of its golden generation.
