Three hosts, three stories, one trophy

The FIFA 2026 World Cup has many firsts attached to it, not least that it is being hosted by three countries—Mexico, Canada and the US.

The tournament, which kicked off last Thursday and ends with the final on 19 July, is being played in 16 cities across the north American continent. The US will be hosting games in 11 cities, Mexico in three and Canada in two.

This will be the third edition of the World Cup to be played on Mexican soil, making the country the only one to host three tournaments. Mexico hosted the 1970 and 1986 tournaments. The US hosted the 1994 World Cup, while for Canada the 2026 tournament will be the country’s first as a host nation.

Mexico, the US and Canada qualified automatically as host nations. In footballing terms, Mexico is the best-ranked host nation with the latest FIFA rankings placing it at 14. The US is not far off, ranked at 17, while Canada trails behind at 30.

In their opening match on Thursday, Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 in Mexico City. On Friday Canada opened proceedings with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia Herzegovina in Toronto, while on Saturday, the US beat Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles.