Egypt and these six countries will play in Vancouver at BC Place for FIFA World Cup
Vancouver is one step closer to fulfilling its hosting duties for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
And, after the schedule release on Saturday, we now know seven of the teams that will play in Vancouver.
We learned on Friday that the three countries outside of Canada visiting BC Place would be Australia, Qatar, and Switzerland.
Saturday’s schedule release revealed three more.
Here’s the full schedule breakdown of FIFA World Cup matches at BC Place.
- June 13: Australia vs. TĂĽrkiye/Slovakia/Romania/Kosovo (9 p.m.)
- June 18: Canada vs. Qatar (3 p.m.)
- June 21: New Zealand vs. Egypt (6 p.m.)
- June 24: Canada vs. Switzerland (12 p.m.)
- June 26: New Zealand vs. Belgium (8 p.m.)
- July 2: Group B Winner vs. 3rd Place of Group E/F/G/I/J
- July 7: Round of 16 match
The schedule reveal on Saturday confirmed that one of the world’s biggest soccer stars will play in Vancouver.
Mohamed Salah and Egypt will battle against New Zealand at BC Place.
The 33-year-old Salah led the Premier League in goals last season. His performance helped Liverpool win the Premier League title in 2024-25.
Belgium will also get a match in Vancouver. Led by legendary midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, Belgium will play New Zealand for the final Group Stage game at BC Place.
Of all teams we know of coming to BC Place right now, Belgium is the best on paper. They sit eighth overall in FIFA’s World Rankings.
Three of the four teams in Group G (Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand) will travel to BC Place. The lone team from that group that won’t play in Vancouver is Iran.
Australia will kick off the FIFA World Cup proceedings at BC Place with a late match on Saturday, June 13 at 9 p.m. They will play the winner of UEFA Path C, which will be one of TĂĽrkiye, Slovakia, Romania, or Kosovo.
While two of the five group stage games at BC Place feature Canada, they have a chance to play up to four games in Vancouver if their tournament is successful.
If they overcome the odds and win Group B, they will play at BC Place on Thursday, July 2.
For Canadian soccer fans feeling really hopeful, they could play again BC Place on in the Round of 16 Tuesday, July 7. That would only happen if they win Group B and the following Round of 32 match.
Switzerland is ahead of Canada in the FIFA World Cup rankings. Italy, if they advance out of UEFA Path A, is also ranked ahead of Canada.