Team USA and all 48 teams are ready for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to officially get underway on Thursday.

The United States is the predominant host of the games this year, with both Mexico and Canada playing host as well.

Action begins with a pair of games on Thursday before we'll see Team USA on the pitch in their first game action on Friday in the group stage.

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Here's a bit more on the format of the World Cup this season, which features 48 teams for the first time in its history:

The 48 teams are split into 12 groups, labelled A through L, with 4 teams in each group. Once all three rounds of group matches are complete, 32 teams move on.

The arithmetic works like this. The top two teams in each group qualify automatically, totalling 24 places. The eight best third-placed teams across all 12 groups take the remaining spots. The four weakest third-placed teams go home, along with every fourth-placed team.

Twelve group winners, twelve runners-up, eight best third-placed sides. That makes 32.

Team USA is in Group D this year, and are ranked as the 16th best team in the World according to FIFA.com.

The other teams in Group D with Team USA are Paraguay, Australia, and Turkiye.

Here's a look at the Group play schedule for Team USA:

Team USA vs. Paraguay - Friday, June 12th @ 8:00 CT - Los Angeles

Team USA vs. Australia - Friday, June 19th @ 2:00 CT - Seattle

Turkiye vs. Team USA - Thursday, June 25th @ 9:00 CT - Los Angeles

*All three Group Stage games for Team USA can be seen on FOX and Peacock.

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Group D Round Robin play will conclude on Thursday, June 25th, so at that stage we'll have a good idea about whether Team USA will advance on to the knockout stage.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final will take place on Sunday, July 19th at 1:00 CT from New Jersey.

Lastly, here's a link to the Team USA roster.

Sources: World Cup Roster, New 48-team format and FIFA World Cup 2026™