The 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule lists five matches across the United States from Tuesday through Thursday, and those are the world cup games tomorrow that will fill U.S. stadia and television windows after the tournament’s first five days.
Tuesday opens with France facing Senegal at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at noon Pacific time, followed by Norway versus Iraq at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, at 3 p.m. Pacific time. Both matches are slated for coverage on Fox and Telemundo.
Wednesday’s doubleheader sends Argentina to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, to meet Algeria at 6 p.m. Pacific time, with Jordan taking on Austria at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, at 9 p.m. Pacific time; Fox and Telemundo will carry both fixtures.
Thursday brings the earliest kickoff of the three days: the Democratic Republic of the Congo plays Portugal at NRG Stadium in Houston at 10 a.m. Pacific time, also on Fox and Telemundo.
These matchups matter beyond the schedule. France arrive as the world’s third-ranked team and with Kylian Mbappé — who holds the tournament finals record of four goals and netted a hat trick in Qatar — as their focal point. Argentina come largely unchanged from their 2022 title run, with 17 players back, including Lionel Messi, Emiliano Martínez and Enzo Fernández. Cristiano Ronaldo appears in the field for a sixth World Cup, and Erling Haaland will make his World Cup debut as Norway plays for the first time this century.
The list includes long absences and fresh entries. The Democratic Republic of the Congo returns to the finals for the first time since 1974, when the country competed as Zaire. Iraq is back after a single prior appearance in 1986; its road to 2026 included a March playoff win over Bolivia, 2-1. Jordan reached the tournament by finishing second to South Korea in its Asian group, led by captain Musa Al‑Taamari, while Austria is playing at the World Cup for the first time this century and has not won a World Cup match since 1990. Algeria arrive ranked 28th in the world and unbeaten aside from two losses over the last two years.
The schedule presents an immediate contrast: several teams listed above are playing tournament openers while other nations, including the United States and Mexico, already have group-stage wins in the bank from the opening five days. That split leaves these scheduled matches carrying more than routine interest — they are chances for newcomers and returnees to claim momentum against established powers that have already started fast.
Fox and Telemundo will carry all five matches, giving English- and Spanish-language audiences the same slate across three days. What remains unresolved is competitive: which of the debutants and long-absent teams will convert novelty into points, and whether the heavyweights — France and Argentina among them — will use these fixtures to tighten control of their groups. Those answers begin to come on Tuesday, and by Thursday morning the group picture will look markedly different.
