When does the 2026 FIFA World Cup start?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 11, 2026, with the opening match at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

Where is the 2026 World Cup Final?

The Final will be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (New York metro area) on July 19, 2026.

How many teams are in the 2026 World Cup?

48 teams will compete in the 2026 World Cup — the first time the tournament has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.

How many host cities are there?

16 host cities across 3 countries: 11 in the USA, 3 in Mexico, and 2 in Canada.

How many matches will be played?

104 matches will be played over 39 days, from June 11 to July 19, 2026.

Match Official

R. Tarajev

Active 2011 → 202111 seasons11 seasons officiated

Home bias: +9.4pp home-win tilt vs away

223

Matches officiated

0.60

Yellow / game

0.027

Red / game

44.8%

Home-win %

35.4%

Away-win %

19.7%

Draw %

Public match-data aggregates over this official's recorded fixtures — outcome splits and cards per game, not SPX Quant Engine output.

Cards profile

Lenientbaseline ~3.5 yellows/game

Books 0.60 yellows per game — below the ~3.5/game public benchmark, a lenient card profile.

Yellows / game0.60

Reds / game0.027

A plain-English strictness read from public cards-per-game totals vs a fixed reference benchmark — not SPX Quant Engine output.

Competitions officiated

Meistriliiga

Estonia

190

Esiliiga A

Estonia

UEFA U21 Championship

World

Cup

Estonia

UEFA Champions League

World

UEFA Youth League

World

UEFA Europa League

World

Matches officiated per competition across this official's recorded fixtures.

Recent matches

Legion vs Flora Tallinn

Match · 2021-11-20

Tammeka vs Tartu Kalev

Match · 2021-10-24

Paide vs Trans Narva

Match · 2021-10-02

Luunja vs Tallinna Kalev

Match · 2021-09-18

Trans Narva vs Vaprus

Match · 2021-08-28

Legion vs Paide

Match · 2021-08-20

Kalju Nomme vs Tulevik

Match · 2021-08-15

FC Levadia Tallinn vs Kuressaare

Match · 2021-08-07

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