2026 FIFA World Cup: A New Era Begins

The World Cup has never looked like this.

Forty‑eight teams. Three host nations. Sixteen stadiums stretched from Mexico City to Toronto to New York and across the American landscape. The biggest edition in the tournament’s history finally lands in North America this week, and the scale is as staggering as the anticipation.

For the first time, the world’s most-watched sporting event belongs to three countries at once. From the Estadio Azteca’s thin air to the Hollywood gloss of Los Angeles and the lakeside chill of Toronto, millions will pour into cities wrapped in their national colors, ready to test what a supersized World Cup really feels like.

Three hosts, three opening acts

The curtain rises in Mexico City on Thursday, and it does so with a sense of déjà vu.

Before a ball is kicked in Group A, the Estadio Azteca will turn into a concert stage. Shakira and Burna Boy lead the show, performing “Dai Dai,” the official song of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, at 11:30 a.m. local time (1:30 p.m. ET). They’ll be joined by a lineup that reads like a Latin American festival poster: Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules, Maná and Tyla, among others named by FIFA.

Then comes the football – and a flashback.

At 2 p.m. local (3 p.m. ET), Mexico host South Africa in the opening match, a rerun of June 11, 2010, when the same two nations kicked off the World Cup in Johannesburg and drew 1–1. This time, the Azteca roars for the home side, not the hosts from the other hemisphere.

Later that night, Group A continues in Guadalajara’s orbit. At Akron Stadium in Zapopan, South Korea face Czechia at 9 p.m. local (11 p.m. ET), a different style of clash but under the same early-tournament pressure: start well, or chase the group from behind.

On Friday, the party shifts north.

Toronto gets its moment as Canada play their first-ever World Cup match on home soil, welcoming Bosnia and Herzegovina at a revamped BMO Field that has swelled from 28,000 to 45,000 seats for the occasion. Ninety minutes before the 3 p.m. ET kick-off, at 1:30 p.m. ET, Canadian music takes center stage. Alanis Morissette, Alessia Cara, Jessie Reyez, Michael Bublé and others will soundtrack the country’s long-awaited step into a home World Cup.

Across the border and across the continent, Los Angeles prepares its own show. SoFi Stadium hosts the United States’ opening match against Paraguay on Friday at 6 p.m. local time (9 p.m. ET), and the U.S. ceremony leans into star power. Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla headline the pregame celebrations, set for 4:30 p.m. local (7:30 p.m. ET).

“The lineup of artists reflects the cultural diversity of the United States and the vibrancy of its many diasporas, highlighting the nation’s rich influence on music, entertainment and pop culture, while showcasing the power of music to bring people together across the country,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said.

The U.S. Men’s National Team will emerge in new Nike kits that nod to the past, including striping inspired by the 1994 home World Cup – a reminder that the last time the Americans played a World Cup match on U.S. soil, they lost 1–0 to eventual champions Brazil on July 4, 1994.

A World Cup under guard

The spectacle arrives with a serious edge.

The United States has layered unprecedented security across its host cities. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that tactical teams have been mobilized to Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle to manage the influx of fans.

These crisis response units, Patel said, will “help support the massive security work involved in protecting players, fans, and visitors.” For supporters heading to venues such as Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, that means longer waits; CBS Boston reported that fans may need to arrive more than an hour early to clear security.

Marlo Graham, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office, framed the operation as familiar in scale, if not in duration. Preparing for the men’s World Cup, he told CBS Atlanta, mirrors other major events, with one key difference: this one stretches across 39 days.

“Our tactical teams have been practicing commingled with other tactical teams from other agencies for months leading up to this,” Graham said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement will also be involved. White House border czar Tom Homan told CBS News that ICE’s “primary focus” during the tournament will be national security, not immigration enforcement.

That assurance follows more than a year of tightened U.S. entry policies under the Trump administration, which have already brushed against the tournament. Over the weekend, a Somali referee scheduled to officiate at the World Cup, Omar Abdulkadir Artan, was denied entry to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection cited “vetting concerns” in a statement, and FIFA confirmed he had been refused entry, without detailing the reasons.

What fans can (and can’t) bring

For those who make it through the outer ring of security, another set of rules awaits at the turnstiles.

FIFA’s stadium code of conduct bars nontransparent bags and a range of hazardous or bulky items: weapons, body protection gear, helmets, umbrellas, strollers and chairs are all on the no-go list. Initially, the organization also moved to block “bottles, cups, jars, cans or any other form of closed or capped receptacle that may be thrown or cause injury,” along with branded water bottles.

In a summer World Cup, that landed badly.

With matches scheduled in peak heat, fans and supporter groups pushed back, arguing that banning reusable bottles risked turning hydration into a luxury. The Free Lions, an English supporters’ group, voiced the frustration on X: “What next? Suncream banned and fans forced to buy it in stadiums? Naturally, the immediate thought from supporters is this is just the latest money-grab.”

The pressure told. Heimo Schirgi, FIFA World Cup 2026 Chief Operating Officer, later clarified on social media that each spectator in U.S. and Canadian stadiums may bring one soft, plastic, disposable, factory-sealed water bottle up to 20 ounces. Hard reusable bottles remain prohibited.

Inside the grounds, beverages – water, sodas and juices – will come exclusively from long-time FIFA sponsor Coca-Cola, The Associated Press reported.

The price of being there

The expanded format means more matches, more cities, more tickets. It does not mean cheaper access.

Across the group stage, prices have surged into the hundreds and, for certain fixtures, the thousands of dollars. For many, especially in traditional supporter sections, the numbers feel punitive.

“It’s an absolutely punishing number with regards to the ticket prices to get into a game,” said Phil Labas, captain of the Chicago chapter of the American Outlaws, a 30,000-strong U.S. supporters’ group.

Labas, who told CBS News he has attended nearly every U.S. Soccer event over the past four years, described how this home World Cup has pushed even the most committed fans higher into the rafters.

“We’re in the 300 section. We are upper deck in a corner ... It’s an absolute travesty,” he said.

The distance from the pitch won’t mute their presence, he insisted.

“You’ll hear us, you’ll see us if they pan up, but we will absolutely be there,” Labas said.

That’s the trade-off for many this summer: a once-in-a-generation home World Cup experience, paid for at premium prices and watched from the nosebleeds.

Who might own this World Cup?

On the pitch, the expanded 48-team field creates a sprawling group stage, and with it, a new playground for bettors. The 2026 tournament is already tipped to become one of the biggest gambling events in history.

Amid the usual favorites – France, Spain, England, Brazil – one name stands out in the predictions of Joachim Klement, a German economist who has correctly called the last three World Cup winners. Speaking to CBS News’ Ramy Inocencio, Klement backed the Netherlands to lift the trophy.

His reasoning cuts against star-driven logic.

Klement pointed to the Dutch as “constant outperformers,” a team with no Messi-like figurehead but with a remarkably even spread of quality and, crucially, no obvious weak link. The Netherlands have reached three World Cup finals (1974, 1978, 2010) without yet winning the tournament.

“I think they have a team that doesn’t have real stars, like [Lionel] Messi for Argentina, but they are a team that is very, very leveled in the performance of every one of the players in the team. So there’s no real weak spot,” he said.

“The second thing is they have a really good defense, and in soccer more so than in most other sports, is the saying that offense wins matches, defense wins tournaments.”

For the United States, Klement’s assessment comes with a split screen: promise on one side, structural limits on the other.

Drawn into Group D with Paraguay, Australia and Turkey, the USMNT find themselves in a balanced section. Klement believes that gives them a realistic shot at progressing and possibly pushing on to at least the quarterfinals.

The ceiling, in his view, comes from culture, not tactics.

“The U.S. has so many sports that compete for the talent pool that it isn’t really the dominating, most important sport in the U.S.,” he said. “While if you go anywhere in Europe or Latin America, it’s soccer and then there’s the rest.”

That’s the backdrop as the biggest World Cup ever staged kicks off: a continent split between hosts, a tournament stretched to new dimensions, ticket prices that sting, security on high alert, and a field wide open enough that a team without a megastar might yet steal the show.

Now the music gives way to the whistle. Who will own this giant of a World Cup – the traditional powers, or the “constant outperformers” ready to turn history on its head?