The extended group stage of the 2026 World Cup is nearing its end, with only the final round of matches left to be played.

This summer’s tournament features 12 groups instead of the usual eight seen in previous editions, meaning that many participating nations have completed only two fixtures during the opening two weeks of play.

Once the concluding group-stage games wrap up in the early hours of Sunday morning (BST), the route to the World Cup 2026 final in New Jersey will begin to take shape.

The 2026 World Cup kicked off with co-hosts Mexico defeating South Africa 2–0 at the iconic Estadio Azteca on Thursday, June 11. This marked the first of 72 group-stage matches compressed into a 17-day schedule.

In total, there will be 104 fixtures throughout the competition, with the majority being completed by Saturday evening before the schedule begins to ease up as the knockout rounds approach.

The knockout phase commences on Sunday, less than a day after the group stage concludes, and culminates with the World Cup 2026 final on Sunday, July 19 in New Jersey, with kick-off set for 8pm BST.

Due to the expanded format, this edition introduces an additional knockout round. Teams advancing from the group stage will first compete in a round of 32 rather than proceeding directly to the round of 16. Consequently, the two finalists will each play eight matches in total during the tournament.

All round-of-32 fixtures are scheduled between Sunday, June 28 and the early hours of Saturday, July 4 (BST).

The successful teams will then move on to the round of 16, which takes place from Saturday, July 4 through Tuesday, July 7.

The quarter-finals follow soon after, running from Thursday, July 9 to Saturday, July 11. From this stage forward, every match will be played in the United States, as co-hosts Canada and Mexico will no longer stage games beyond the round of 16.

The semi-final clashes are set for Tuesday, July 14 in Dallas and Wednesday, July 15 in Atlanta, both kicking off at 8pm BST.

After the semi-finals, only two fixtures will remain: the third-place play-off in Miami at 10pm BST on Saturday, July 18, and the grand final in New Jersey the following evening.

This will conclude the longest World Cup in history, lasting 39 days in total — a full week longer than previous editions of the tournament.