2026 FIFA World Cup schedule: Seattle matches unveiled and a look at potential base camps (Gonzaga among them)

SEATTLE – FIFA unveiled the match schedule for next summer’s 2026 Men’s World Cup on Saturday and it’s clear the organization is taking advantage of the generally temperate weather in the Pacific Northwest that time of year and the chance for games to be in prime-time hours for most of Europe.

Three of the four group-stage matches set to take place at Lumen Field – known as Seattle Stadium for the tournament – will kick off at noon, with the fourth match set to start at 8 p.m. locally.

The highlight will be the United States facing Australia on June 19 in one of the matches with a noon kickoff time. That will be the second of the four matches played here in the group stage.

The opening match in Seattle could end up being the best of the four in the group stage with Belgium facing Egypt on June 15 in the opener for Group G.

The third group-stage match will be at noon on June 24 and come from Group B with Qatar facing a team still to come from one of the European playoffs to be contested in March. The group of four European teams competing for that spot in the tournament includes Italy, the No. 12-ranked team in the world and the favorite to come out of that playoff.

The final group-stage match at Lumen Field will be on June 26 and feature Egypt facing Iran in the one nighttime kickoff with an 8 p.m. start time. An 8 p.m. kickoff time is 6 a.m. the next day in Cairo and 7:30 a.m. in Tehran.

Iran was guaranteed to play at least one game in the United States – either in Los Angeles or Seattle – while there is currently a travel ban on Iranian residents entering the country. It will play three with its first two matches in the Los Angeles area at SoFi Stadium.

World Cup in Seattle

Here are the matchups and details for each FIFA Men’s World Cup match being played at Lumen Field in Seattle next summer.

Mon, June 15, noon: Group G, Belgium vs. Egypt

Fri, June 19, noon: Group D, United States vs. Australia

Wed, June 24, noon: Group B, Qatar vs. TBD

Fri, June 26, 8 p.m.: Group G, Egypt vs. Iran

Wed, July 1, 1 p.m.: Round of 32, TBD

Mon, July 6, 5 p.m.: Round of 16, TBD

To its credit, FIFA set the kickoff times for all of the knockout-stage matches as well as part of the schedule reveal. Lumen Field will host a round-of-32 match on July 1 that will kick off at 1 p.m. and will feature the winner of Group G. The round-of-16 match on July 6 that has a chance of including the U.S. will be a 5 p.m. start.

The final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey will kick off at noon PT.

Next round of tickets

Now that the schedule is set, FIFA will launch its third round of ticketing for the World Cup on Dec. 11. The ticketing window will run through Jan. 13. There is expected to be one more ticket-purchase opportunity through FIFA sometime in the spring of 2026 that doesn’t require going to the resale marketplace.

The Vancouver angle

Just up the road, BC Place in Vancouver will host five group-stage matches and two in the knockout rounds. Here’s the rundown of the schedule for games there (all times local):

Saturday, June 13: Australia vs. European playoff team, 9 p.m. (Group D)

Thursday, June 18: Canada vs. Qatar, 2 p.m. (Group B)

Sunday, June 21: New Zealand vs. Egypt, 6 p.m. (Group G)

Wednesday, June 24: Canada vs. Switzerland, noon (Group B)

Friday, June 26: Belgium vs. New Zealand, 8 p.m. (Group G)

Thursday, July 2: Round of 32 match, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, July 7: Round of 16 match, 1 p.m.

Best match in Seattle

This would require the soccer gods looking kindly on the host country, but there’s a path where the final match at Lumen Field would be Belgium against the U.S. for a spot in the quarterfinals. They are the two countries favored to win their respective groups and there is massive incentive to finish in the top spot for both.

The winners of Groups D and G would potentially not have to leave the West Coast until the semifinals. Should Belgium win Group G, it could play the round of 32 and round of 16 in Seattle. Should the U.S. win Group D, its path would see a round-of-32 match in the Bay Area, followed by the round of 16 in Seattle.

The winner of the round-of-16 match at Lumen Field will advance to a quarterfinal in Los Angeles.

Belgium and the U.S. meeting in the round of 16 happened not that long ago. In 2014 in Brazil, the Belgians beat the U.S. 2-1 in extra time despite American goalkeeper Tim Howard making a World Cup-record 16 saves.

Best match in Vancouver

Canada’s group is distinctly tougher than what the U.S. will face, especially if Italy advances. The most important match for the Canadians probably will be its group finale against Switzerland on June 24 that will start simultaneously with a match in Seattle. Second choice would be the round of 16 on July 7 which has a pathway for a potential match between Canada/Switzerland/European playoff winner and Portugal or Colombia.

The match to skip?

Overall, Seattle’s schedule is decent. It’s not close to Boston/New York/Philadelphia but it’s not as bland as what the Bay Area received.

But there is one underwhelming matchup. Iran is ranked 20th in the world but its fans currently are under a travel ban from coming to the U.S. Egypt is 34th in the world and while it still has superstar Mo Salah, he’s not the player he once was. They are equally matched teams who could be playing for a spot in the knockout rounds so the quality of the game might end up great even if the star power – and possibly atmosphere – could be lacking.

The Qatar match would also lose a lot of its enticement if Italy doesn’t end up being the team that advances from the European playoffs. The other three possibilities – Wales (No. 32), North Macedonia (No. 65) and Northern Ireland (No. 69) – wouldn’t bring the same excitement as the Italians.

Base camps

Now that the draw and schedule is complete, one other remaining aspect is where each country will set up its base camp for the tournament.

The Sounders training center in Renton has been expected to be a base camp for a country playing most of its games on the West Coast. Belgium, Australia, Egypt and New Zealand would all be strong candidates to set up shop in Renton.

There are three other options in the Pacific Northwest. The college facilities at Gonzaga, Boise State and the University of Portland have also been approved as potential base camps.

Competing countries are expected to submit their preferences and requests for camp locations now that the draw has been completed.