New Delhi, June 10 (IANS) Football’s biggest showpiece event, the FIFA World Cup 2026, is set to commence on June 12 (IST) with fans across the world set to witness 48 teams clash for the trophy for the first time in the history of the game.

The multinational tournament will be hosted jointly by Mexico, Canada and the United States of America and will feature a total of 104 matches in an expanded tournament.

The expanded format introduces 12 groups of four teams each, replacing the previous structure of eight groups. The top two teams from every group, along with the eight best third-placed sides, will advance to the knockout stage, creating a new Round of 32 before the traditional Round of 16.

India is not taking part in the tournament, but the craze for the biggest ever FIFA World Cup is high among the fans who are willing to witness their favourite footballers performing on the global stage.

For the viewers from India, there was a deadlock regarding the broadcast of the tournament in the country. However, that deadlock is over now, and the Indian audience can also watch the fixtures.

Where to Watch FIFA World Cup 2026 on TV in India?

The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be shown on the newly launched Unite8 Sports network on television. Four channels – Unite8 Sports 1 (Hindi commentary), Unite8 Sports 1 HD (Hindi commentary), Unite8 Sports 2 (English commentary), and Unite8 Sports 2 HD (English commentary) will broadcast matches.

Where to watch the live streaming of the FIFA World Cup 2026 in India?

Fans can watch the live streaming of the FIFA World Cup on mobile, laptop or smart TV on the Zee5 app.

The Groups

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, Republic of Korea, Czechia

Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti

Group D: USA, Paraguay, Australia, Turkey

Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Curaçao

Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Tunisia

Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand

Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde

Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, Iraq

Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan

Group K: Portugal, Colombia, DR Congo, Uzbekistan

Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama

–IANS

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