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

C Thomson

Active 2002 → 201918 seasons16 seasons officiated

Home bias: +13.3pp home-win tilt vs away

286

Matches officiated

0.02

Yellow / game

0.000

Red / game

44.8%

Home-win %

31.5%

Away-win %

23.8%

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

Yellows / game0.02

Reds / game0.000

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

Competitions officiated

Premiership

Scotland

269

Championship

Scotland

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

Recent matches

Hibernian vs Heart Of Midlothian

Match · 2019-04-28

Ayr Utd vs Inverness CT

Match · 2019-04-06

Alloa Athletic vs Falkirk

Match · 2019-02-09

Falkirk vs Partick

Match · 2018-11-17

Dundee Utd vs Queen of the South

Match · 2018-11-03

Dundee vs Queen of the South

Match · 2018-11-03

Inverness CT vs Morton

Match · 2018-10-06

Dunfermline vs Ross County

Match · 2018-08-11

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