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

D. Sanodze

Active 2011 → 202414 seasons13 seasons officiated

Home bias: +13.9pp home-win tilt vs away

201

Matches officiated

0.19

Yellow / game

0.000

Red / game

43.8%

Home-win %

29.9%

Away-win %

26.4%

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

Yellows / game0.19

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

Erovnuli Liga 2

Georgia

176

Erovnuli Liga

Georgia

David Kipiani Cup

Georgia

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

Notable matches

Liakhvi Tskhinvali vs Borjomi

Erovnuli Liga 2 · 2016-11-28

Final

World Cup fixtures and detected finals from this official's record.

Recent matches

Spaeri vs Kolkheti Khobi

Match · 2024-08-05

Gareji vs Rustavi

Match · 2024-06-01

Sioni vs Kolkheti Khobi

Match · 2024-05-19

Gareji vs Merani Martvili

Match · 2023-10-27

Sioni vs WIT Georgia

Match · 2023-10-20

Betlemi vs Kolkheti Poti

Match · 2023-07-29

Merani Martvili vs Dinamo Tbilisi II

Match · 2023-06-09

WIT Georgia vs Gareji

Match · 2023-06-04

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