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Explainers, analysis and previews for the World Cup 2026 - Day Two: A Drag-Back in Guadalajara — South Korea's Comeback, and Canada's Opening Night Hwang In-beom answered a long-throw shock with one of the goals of the tournament so far, a feverish substitute won it late, and the day ends with Canada's first home World Cup match in Toronto. Day two, recapped. daily-recapmatch-reportgroup-agroup-b2026 Read more
- Day One: Mexico Finally Win an Opener — and the Cards Come Out at the Azteca Julián Quiñones scored the first goal of the 48-team era, Raúl Jiménez got the moment he'd waited his whole career for, and three red cards made World Cup history. Day one in Mexico City, recapped. daily-recapmatch-reportgroup-a2026 Read more
- The 2026 Group Stage, Explained: How 48 Teams Become 32 Twelve groups, three matches each, and a third-place race nobody fully understands until the final whistle. Here's exactly how teams qualify in summer 2026 — and the tiebreaker order that actually decides it. formatgroup-stage2026explainer Read more
- The 2026 Knockout Stage, Explained: 32 Teams, One Mistake, You're Gone Once the groups are done the safety net disappears. Here's how the knockout rounds work in summer 2026 — including the bracket quirk that means group winners don't simply face runners-up anymore. formatknockout-stage2026explainer Read more
- Halftime Concerts, Water Breaks and Red Cards for Covering Your Mouth: The Off-Pitch Changes for Summer 2026 Part two of what's new this summer. Five changes that have less to do with how the ball moves and more to do with the heat, the cameras, the broadcast — and a final played in two halves around a stadium concert. rulesfan-experience2026explainer Read more
- Six New Rules for Summer 2026: What Actually Changes on the Pitch From the five-second countdown to body cams on referees, here are the rule changes shaping the 2026 finals — and how each one is meant to kill time-wasting. rules2026explainer Read more