The World Cup is starting. Here's what to know and how to watch

Workers work from a crane at Los Angeles Stadium (temporarily renamed from SoFi Stadium) on June 7, ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

We've talked about the astronomical ticket prices . The fragile geopolitics that almost made Iran withdraw . And the summer heat posing a risk across host cities.

The first matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America kick off Thursday with Mexico vs. South Africa and South Korea vs. Czech Republic. The first game for the United States will be against Paraguay on Friday at 9 p.m. ET.

This summer, 48 men's national teams will compete in the World Cup's biggest tournament ever. You can find all of NPR's World Cup coverage over the next six weeks in our series Soccer Edition . But here are a few of the basics to get you started.

The first round, also known as the group stage, will run through June 27 . There are 12 groups consisting of four teams each, and each team will play against the other three. The top 32 countries will advance.

How are the teams ranked? Well, winning a match = 3 points; a draw = 1 point; and a loss = nada. The top two teams of each group will make it to the next round, as well as eight of the best third-place teams.

Once that's settled, it's time for the knockout phase. This is when the tournament starts to become a real nail-biter. From here on, the result of a single match will determine each team's fate. First, 32 teams will face off between June 28 and July 3 . Then, the remaining 16 teams will compete from July 4 to 7 .

The quarterfinals are July 9 to 11 , and the semifinals are July 14 and 15 . A match to see which team places third will be on July 18 . And the final will be on July 19 .