With Anitta and Shakira, what the three opening ceremonies of the World Cup will be like - and the details of the games of the biggest World Cup in history

Shakira and Anitta on Todo Mundo no Rio
TV Globo
The ball will finally roll, but before that there will be a party. The 2026 World Cup will begin this Thursday (11), with the game between Mexico and South Africa, at the historic Azteca Stadium, in Mexico City.
It is the kickoff of the 23rd edition of the World Cup, which will be held for the first time in three countries: in addition to Mexico, the United States and Canada.
The competition continues until July 19th, bringing together a record number of 48 teams (16 more than in Qatar, in 2022). There will be 104 matches in total.
See all the details of the opening ceremony and what you need to know to follow the World Cup:
Three opening ceremonies, with Shakira, Anitta and Alanis Morissette
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As the 2026 World Cup will take place in three countries, there will be three opening ceremonies.
The first will be in Mexico City from 2:30 pm this Thursday (Brasília time), 90 minutes before the start of the match between Mexico and South Africa, at 4pm.
FIFA promises a colorful ceremony, based on the art of Mexican papel papelpicota.
Mexican singer Alejandro Fernández will sing the home team's anthem, while South African Tyla will sing her country's anthem. Mexican actress Salma Hayek will welcome the audience.
On stage, Mexicans Lila Downs and Belinda will also perform, as well as national bands Los Ángeles Azules and Maná. Venezuelan Danny Ocean and Colombians J Balvin and Ryan Castro also sing at the ceremony.
Colombian star Shakira and Nigerian Burna Boy perform "Dai Dai", the official song of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
On Friday (12), it is the turn of the United States and Canada to welcome the World Cup.
On Canadian soil, the ceremony takes place at Toronto Stadium from 2:30 pm (Brasília time), before the match between Canada x Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Canadian anthem will be heard in the voice of Alanis Morissette, while the Bosnian one will be performed by Aleksandar Gajić. Canadian actor and comedian Will Arnett will be the master of ceremonies.
Other confirmed artists are: Canadians Michael Bublé, Alessia Cara, Jessie Reyez, William Prince and Nora Fatehi, as well as Palestinian Elyanna, Frenchman Vegedream and Bengali DJ Sanjoy.
In the USA, the party takes place at the Los Angeles Stadium from 8:30 pm on Friday (Brasília time), before the match between the USA and Paraguay, paying homage to the "creative energy" of the American capital of entertainment. Jason Sudeikis, famous for his role as the coach in the series "Ted Lasso", will speak to the fans.
The country duo Dan + Shay will sing the American anthem, and the Paraguayan group Purahei Soul.
American singers Katy Perry and Future will also participate. There will also be a presentation that will bring together the Brazilian Anitta, the Thai LISA and the Nigerian Rema. The trio released the song "Goals", part of the FIFA music album.
What are the 12 groups?
This year's World Cup will have a new format, with 12 groups of four teams each.
The top two teams from each group will move on to the knockout stage, alongside the eight best third-placed teams.
The first three classification criteria for the best third-place teams will be the number of points, best goal difference and highest number of goals scored.
When will the games?
The tournament will be played between June 11th and July 19th. In other words, the World Cup will last a record 39 days - more than the 29 days of Qatar in 2022 and the 32 of the World Cups in Russia in 2018 and Brazil in 2014.
In total, the group stage will have 72 games in 17 days, from the opening game until Saturday, June 27.
The knockout phases will be played on the following dates:
second phase, or 16th finals, between June 28th and July 3rd;
round of 16, between July 4th and 7th;
quarter-finals, between July 9th and 11th; and
semifinals, on July 14th and 15th.
The third place decision will take place on July 18th in Miami, in the American state of Florida. And the new champion will be announced at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, also in the United States, on Sunday, July 19th.
Brazil is in group C and the team's games in the group stage will be as follows (times are in Brasília):
Brazil x Morocco: Saturday, June 13th, at 7 pm, in New Jersey.
Brazil x Haiti: Friday, June 19th, at 9:30 pm, in New Jersey.
Brazil the opening of the tournament will take place at the Mexico City Stadium, which will make history by being the first to host three editions of the World Cup (1970, 1986 and 2026).
There will also be games in the Mexican cities of Guadalajara and Monterrey.
Canada will have two venues: Toronto and Vancouver.
And the United States forms the majority host of the tournament, with games in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco/Santa Clara and Seattle.
Game times
As the matches will be played in four time zones and in venues separated by up to 4,500 kilometers, there will be a total of 13 different match start times.
Fans from the American continent will have relatively greater convenience in following the World Cup. All matches will start at 1pm and end at midnight, according to the time zone of their respective venues.
But, in Brazilian time, the last matches of some days may end after 4 am.
On other continents, the times are different.
In Europe, for example, most games will take place between 6 pm and 5 am the following day. And, in East Asia and Oceania, people will follow the matches mainly at dawn and in the morning.
Who are the players called up from Brazil?
Goalkeepers: Alisson (Liverpool); Ederson (Fenerbahçe); Weverton (Grêmio)
Defenders: Alex Sandro (Flamengo), Bremer (Juventus), Danilo (Flamengo), Douglas Santos (Zenit), Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal), Ibañez (Al Ahli), Léo Pereira (Flamengo), Marquinhos (PSG), Wesley (Roma).
Midfield: Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle), Casemiro (Manchester United), Danilo (Botafogo), Fabinho (Al Ittihad), Lucas Paquetá (Flamengo).
Forwards: Endrick (Lyon), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Igor Thiago (Brentford), Luiz Henrique (Zenit), Matheus Cunha (Manchester United), Neymar (Santos), Raphinha (Barcelona), Rayan (Bournemouth), Vini Jr (Real Madrid).
Who are the favourites?
By Ciaran Varley, from BBC Sport
The Spanish team, European champions, is the favorite to win the 2026 World Cup. Their campaign in the qualifiers was practically flawless.
The Spanish squad is full of talent, with players such as Pedri, Fabián Ruiz, Martín Zubimendi, Rodri (winner of the 2024 Ballon d'Or award) and Lamine Yamal, one of the best players in the world of the new generation.
Slightly behind Spain is England, runner-up in the last two European Championships. It is hoped that the current generation of English players can aspire to the title.
The English team, led by German coach Thomas Tuchel, qualified for the World Cup by winning every game, without conceding a single goal. It has a squad full of big names, such as Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane.
France is also among the favorites. Didier Deschamps' team has a powerful attacking line, highlighted by Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembele, the current Ballon d'Or winner. Copa América twice in a row (2021 and 2024) and the last World Cup in Qatar, the Argentines come to the 2026 World Cup with a lot of strength.
And, even with their disappointing campaign in the qualifiers, finishing fifth in South America, with six defeats in 18 games and without winning a World Cup in 24 years, who can in their right mind rule out Brazil?
Other teams to watch
By Michael Emons, from the BBC Sport
Norway has not participated in a World Cup since 1998, in France. And it never went beyond the round of 16.
But Erling Haaland's team, from Manchester City (scorer of 16 goals in the qualifiers), could be a surprise.
Its trajectory in the European qualifiers was impeccable. The Norwegians won all eight games played, including two victories over four-time world champion Italy - at home and away.
Norway competes in group I of the World Cup, against France, Senegal and Iraq.
Morocco was another team that won all of its matches in the qualifiers. The country currently occupies eighth place in the FIFA rankings.
The Moroccans reached the final of this year's African Cup of Nations. And, even though they lost to Senegal 1-0, they ended up winning the title in a controversial way.
It is likely that Morocco will qualify for the second phase, competing in group C, which also includes Brazil, Scotland and Haiti.
Mohamed Salah's Egypt also hopes to qualify in group G, against Belgium, Iran and New Zealand.
Japan currently has the strongest team in Asia. The Japanese went through the qualifiers with ease, conceding just three goals in 16 games.
At the end of March, the Japanese team beat England for the first time, 1-0. The friendly game was played at Wembley Stadium, in London.
Japan is in group F, with the Netherlands, Tunisia and Sweden.
Colombia is confident that it will do well in the World Cup, after its good campaign in the South American qualifiers.
The Colombian team beat Brazil and Argentina, finishing in third place. Colombia competes in group K, with Portugal, Uzbekistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
What about the hosts? Well, Canada, in its third participation in the World Cup, could be a surprise.
It is true that the Canadian team lost its six games prior to the World Cup, but its group B looks favorable, with Qatar, Switzerland and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The World Cup debutants
Four countries will make their debut in the World Cup.
Little Curaçao will become the smallest country to participate in the World Cup. The Caribbean island has just 150,000 inhabitants and an area of 444 km².
Curaçao is in group E, with Germany, Ivory Coast and Ecuador.
With less than 525,000 inhabitants, Cape Verde is the third smallest country to qualify for the World Cup. It is behind only Curaçao and Iceland, which played in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The archipelago made up of 10 islands in the Atlantic Ocean will face Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, in group H of the 2026 World Cup.
The two other newcomers come from the Asian continent.
Uzbekistan was a semi-finalist in the Asian Cup in 2011.
The country put an end to its long line waiting for classification under the direction of coach Fabio Cannavaro. As a player, he was world champion with the Italian national team in 2006, in Germany.
The White Wolves have players such as Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov and former Roma striker Eldor Shomurodov.
The Uzbeks hope to cause a sensation in group K, which also includes Portugal, Colombia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Jordan finished the third phase of the Asian qualifiers behind South Korea, with four wins and four draws in 10 matches.
The Jordanians occupy 64th place in the FIFA rankings and show constant progression. They reached the final of the 2023 Asian Cup, where they were defeated by hosts Qatar.
Argentina, Algeria and Austria are waiting for Jordan in group J.

Source: G1