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Croatia and these six countries are playing in Toronto for the FIFA World Cup

Toronto's schedule for FIFA World Cup 2026 was revealed on Saturday, and we now know seven of the countries that will visit the city.

While there were certainly some big potential matchups that the city wasn't awarded, there are still some prominent soccer countries who will travel to Toronto in June 2026.

Here's the full schedule breakdown for games at Toronto Stadium:

  • June 12: Canada vs. Italy/Wales/Northern Ireland/Bosnia and Herzegovina (3:00 p.m.)
  • June 17: Ghana vs. Panama (6:00 p.m.)
  • June 20: Germany vs. Ivory Coast (4:00 p.m.)
  • June 23: Panama vs. Croatia (7:00 p.m.)
  • June 26: Senegal vs. Iraq/Bolivia/Suriname (3:00 p.m.)
  • July 2: Runner-up Group K vs. Runner-up Group L

We learned Friday that Canada will potentially play Italy to kick off the World Cup festivities in Toronto.

If it's not Italy, then one of Northern Ireland, Wales, or Bosnia and Herzegovina will play Canada on June 12. The winner of that group will be decided on March 31, 2026.

Outside of the opening match, two other top-10 soccer countries will play in Toronto.

Germany has a match at Toronto Stadium on Saturday, June 20, at 4:00 p.m. against Ivory Coast. Currently, Germany is ninth overall in FIFA's World Cup Rankings.

The 10th-ranked team in the world, Croatia, will also play a match in Toronto. They face Panama at Toronto Stadium on June 23.

Croatia received a medal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, defeating Morocco in the third-place game.

Here's the full list of countries we know will play in Toronto, along with their FIFA World Ranking:

  • Germany (9th)
  • Croatia (10th)
  • Senegal (19th)
  • Canada (27th)
  • Panama (30th)
  • Ivory Coast (42nd)
  • Ghana (72nd)

Even though renowned soccer countries like Germany and Croatia will play in Toronto, the city missed out on some marquee matches.

Toronto was one of two cities that had a chance to host France and Norway on June 26. Instead, the match will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

That game features, arguably, the best two soccer players in the world with Kylian Mbappe (France) and Erling Haaland (Norway).

Toronto was also in the running to host a pair of England games, but they went 0-for-2 on being gifted those matchups once the schedule was released.

Instead, England will play Croatia at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, on June 17. They'll also play Ghana at Gillette Stadium on June 23.

It's probably not a surprise that Toronto didn't land those matches. Their stadium capacity is projected to be about 45,000, which pales in comparison to Gillette Stadium (65,878) and AT&T Stadium (80,000).

Lead photo by

Yukihito Taguchi/Imagn Images


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