Di 2026 World Cup don finally kick off for Thursday night, with Mexico and South Africa dey open di tournament for a repeat of di 2010 opening match. E be di first of record 104 matches for dis World Cup, wey don increase because di tournament expand from 32 to 48 teams.
America, Canada and Mexico dey co-host di tournament, with matches spread across 16 cities – 11 for US, two for Canada and three for Mexico. Di quarter-finals, semi-finals and final go all hold for US. Di host cities na Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Monterrey, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Toronto, and Vancouver.
Di World Cup go run from Thursday 11 June to Sunday 19 July, making am di longest edition ever. With 16 additional countries, di format don change. Di 48 teams dey split into 12 groups of four. Di top two teams for each group, plus di eight best third-placed teams, go move to di round of 32. From there, e be normal knockout bracket. Di third-placed teams go dey separated first by group points, then goal difference, then goals scored.
Di groups include: Group A – Mexico, South Africa, Czechia, South Korea; Group B – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Qatar, Switzerland; Group C – Brazil, Haiti, Morocco, Scotland; Group D – Australia, Paraguay, Turkey, USA; Group E – Curacao, Ecuador, Germany, Ivory Coast; Group F – Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Tunisia; Group G – Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand; Group H – Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay; Group I – France, Senegal, Iraq, Norway; Group J – Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan; Group K – Portugal, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uzbekistan, Colombia; Group L – England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama.
Four teams dey make dia World Cup debut: Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan. Ten Chelsea players go represent dia nations: Enzo Fernandez (Argentina), Moises Caicedo and Kendry Paez (both Ecuador), Reece James (England), Malo Gusto (France), Pedro Neto (Portugal), Marc Cucurella (Spain), Mamadou Sarr and Nicolas Jackson (both Senegal), and Mike Penders (Belgium).
Di group games wey involve Chelsea players dey list for chronological order. Argentina vs Jordan – Monday 29 June, 3am UK time. Di World Cup final go be on Sunday 19 July, kick-off 8pm UK at MetLife Stadium for New Jersey, where Chelsea win Club World Cup last summer.
For UK, every game go dey broadcast live on BBC or ITV. Di Chelsea Official App and website go keep you updated with how our players dey do for dia special World Cup hub.
