Previewing the 6 World Cup Matches in Seattle

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United States midfielder Cristian Roldan (6) battles for position against Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron (10) in the first half at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images [/caption]

It's finally here.

Soccer, soon to be football, fans across the Pacific Northwest have been waiting with bated breath for Seattle to play host to the largest sporting event in the world: The FIFA World Cup.

The tournament is bigger than ever in this fixture. Set to span Canada, the U.S. and Mexico from mid-June through mid-July, with Mexico and South Africa opening festivities on Thursday. As such, the field has expanded for the first time since 1998 with 48 teams instead of 32, meaning 104 matches rather than 64.

Seattle will play host to six of those matches, with four group matches through June culminating in a Round of 32 match on July 1 and a Round of 16 match on July 6. With the expanded field, the number of teams qualifying for those knockout games will increase from the top two finishers in each group after three group matches to the top two finishers plus the top eight of 12 third-place finishers, making a 32-team field.

This added opportunity to qualify for knockout games should only benefit the viewers in Seattle, as many of the seven unique squads set to play in the Emerald City are slated to finish second and third in their groups. While any World Cup game is special, the chances of fans showing up to a game lacking real tournament implications are quite low.

While the knockout-match teams in Seattle are obviously TBD, Belgium will take on Egypt on June 15 to kick off Seattle's run while the United States and Seattle Sounders star Cristian Roldan will play Australia on June 19. From there, Qatar will take on Bosnia & Herzegovina on June 24 before Egypt and Iran finish the group stage off on June 26.

What can fans expect to see in those matches?

Belgium vs. Egypt (Group G) — June 15, 12 PM PT

These are two very different squads from a historical perspective.

Egypt, led by international star and club free agent Mohamed Salah, has never made it past the group stage. Belgium is coming to the end of their international glory days, with a group-stage exit in 2022 being the buffer between a third-place finish in 2018.

Belgium, which is training at the Seattle Sounders facility in Renton, will be looking to capitalize on the final years of aging legends like star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, 33-year-old forward Romelu Lukaku and Real Madrid keeper Thibault Courtois while leaning on a new World Cup talent in 24-year-old Manchester City man Jeremy Doku.

Egypt, on the other hand, also has a talented attack headlined by Salah and another Man City man in Omar Marmoush. Egypt's striker, Mostafa Mohamed, also tabs minutes for French side Nantes in Ligue 1. Their midfield and backline are underwhelming in comparison, as the Pharaohs may end up playing back in hopes of creating a counterattack.

Zooming out to the implications of this game, Group G is middle of the road in the field with Belgium, New Zealand, Iran and Egypt.

Belgium is projected to win the group and go through, and could very well go undefeated based on their experience, but splitting points in this one could make Egypt's dreams of playing knockout football on this stage come true. With the expanded field, Egypt could even get through with a typically underwhelming group-stage performance, like a four-point showing.

Egypt vs. Iran, set for June 26 also in Seattle, will likely be a play-in game. Egypt could get the upper hand in that matchup with a result in their opener, but would need an experienced Belgium squad to slip up as they did in 2022. For Belgium, it's a chance to put Qatar in the rearview mirror and start strong in 2026.

USA vs. Australia (Group D) — June 19, 12 PM PT

Widely seen as a must-win game for the home team looking to make it out of an average group, this fixture is going to be the most well-attended and expensive group-stage game in Seattle.

Sounders star Cristian Roldan is part of the defending midfield and will get a boost playing on his home field against an Australia team seen as the likely last-place finisher in the group. With a solid squad in Turkiye and a nagging upset-minded Paraguay team filling out the rest of the group, the Socceroos present a team the U.S. should beat.

Led by "Captain America" Christian Pulisic, the States are full of players who could break out in this tournament. Folarin Balogun has stood out in his elite striking ability in friendlies already, while Mönchengladbach sub Gio Reyna presents another creator with high upside. Marseille man Tim Weah brings some strong running ability, alongside Weston McKennie, to give creators like Pulisic solid targets.

Tyler Adams is the center of the U.S. defense in the midfield, while an aging Tim Ream and Chris Richards man things at center back.

This is a United States squad with a slightly below-average age of 26, as Ream, keeper Matt Turner and Roldan (31) are outliers as 30+ year-old contributors. Considering the United States' youth and decent reintroduction to this stage in 2022, they'll be looking to make it to the Round of 16 at least, as the 16th-rated team in the world heading into June.

As for Australia, it's an overlooked squad that has a knack for overperforming at times in these tournaments.

The Socceroos pushed the eventual champion Argentina in a 2-1 loss in the 2022 Round of 16, and will be hard to shake as a squad used to the bright lights of the tournament. 6-6 center back Harry Souttar of Leicester City towers above others on set pieces while 20-year-old Watford forward Nestory Irankunda looks to break out in this tournament.

In a match where the group favorite is taking on the perceived weakest squad, Australia will be bringing its A-game, a good test for the U.S. and likely a better watch for the fans in Seattle.

Qatar vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina (Group B) — June 24, 12 PM PT

The easiest game to get into in Seattle features the two squads projected to be battling for third in Group B.

Qatar is coming off qualifying for the first time through typical means with a pivotal 2-1 win in October over the UAE. Bosnia & Herzegovina made international headlines, meanwhile, eliminating top-15 squad Italy in a UEFA qualifier on penalties in late March to make the cut.

Considering the tough roads both countries had to make it to this point, both will be happy to just be a part of the tournament for their second time ever. But there's real buzz around Bosnia (last qualified in '14) for their upsetting antics against Italy.

Bosnia has just won once in the World Cup in their history, and playing a weaker Qatar side will present a chance to double that total and to make a push for third in the group.

40-year-old Edin Dzeko headlines Bosnia as a former 29-goal man for Serie A's Roma in his prime. 28-year-old Ermedin Demirovic has amassed over 50 goal contributions in his last three Bundesliga seasons at striker, making him another real threat for Qatar to account for.

Still, the World Cup is a different beast, and this is a team that hasn't seen these lights as currently constructed.

Qatar has, though they went 0-3 as the host nation in 2022. Since then, they hired a new manager and won the Asian Cup in 2023 on their home turf. While Bosnia has plenty of European talent, all but one of the Qatari players play in Qatar's top football division. Needless to say, this is a squad that values being connected year-round.

Akram Afif was one of the most dynamic assist-providers in the 16 World Cup qualifying matches for Qatar, as the 29-year-old, who once played in La Liga as a 19-year-old, had 11 assists. 30-year-old Almoez Ali is the country's all-time leading scorer and scored 12 goals in 13 starts in the qualifiers.

These are two squads that know this match will be their best chance at swinging three points in a group with Switzerland and Canada. It may contain the fewest internationally recognized players of any match in Seattle this summer, but fans will see both squads give it their all as both dream of playing a knockout match.

Egypt vs. Iran (Group G) — June 26, 8 PM PT

Egypt will close its Group G run against a solid Iran squad that was among the first teams in Asia to clinch a spot in the tournament. This match marks the only primetime group-stage game that Seattle will host in this tournament.

With Belgium as the favorite in the group and New Zealand likely to finish fourth, this match will likely determine which Middle Eastern squad gets an automatic second-place bid to the knockouts and who relies on the third-place odds.

Iran will also be playing for their first-ever admission to the knockout stages despite making the World Cup seven times and three consecutive times since 2014. It will rely on captain Mehdi Taremi — a former Porto and current Olympiacos star who has seen two World Cups and put together a 10-goal, seven-assist run in just 15 World Cup qualifiers this past year.

33-year-old keeper Alireza Beiranvand will be starting in his fourth World Cup, while a solid creator in 27-year-old Mehdi Ghaedi will look to make some magic on the biggest stage.

In all, seven Iranian players will be on their third World Cup, making them a tough out in trying to make it further than ever before in this expanded format.

Knockouts — R32 July 1, 1 p.m. PDT / R16 July 6, 5 PM PT

The Round of 32 knockout match, the first of its kind in this expanded format, will feature the Group G winner, likely Belgium again, taking on a third-place finisher that is TBD.

The Round of 16 game will pit the winner of that Round of 32 game against the winner of another R32 game featuring the winner of Group D and a third-place team.

That means, if things break like many analysts are projecting, that Seattle could host a USA-Belgium Round of 16 game to cap off its hosting run. While it may seem underwhelming for the Emerald City to not see the glamour of a quarterfinal, the U.S. is currently ranked around No. 16 in the world.

With a team like Belgium in the lower top-10, that Round of 16 game would present a benchmark for how far the U.S. has come since missing the tournament altogether in 2018. A quarterfinal berth would be the States' best finish since 2002, and clinching it in Seattle would not only be a landmark moment for soccer in the city, but for the sport’s popularity at home. Merely making the Round of 16 would mean the U.S. hit its usual expectations.

To win under the arches the Sounders and Reign frequent would be sweet for locals, to say the least.

How Can You Be A Part of It?

The most notorious headline around the World Cup right now is the ticket prices.

The get-in price to USA-Australia is currently hovering just a shade under $2,000, while fans can get into Qatar vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina for under $300.

Seattle's newest soccer pitch has docked 🚢⚽️

➡️ https://t.co/FCptHPAVZx pic.twitter.com/yOmIWNEFar— Seattle Reign FC (@reignfc) June 10, 2026

Needless to say, many fans are simply priced out of these fixtures.

As such, there are fan zones across the region that locals can watch the games from to feel a part of the festivities.

There will be zones in:

• Everett

• Puyallup Tribe (Tacoma)

• Olympia/Lacey

• Bremerton

• Seattle

• Pioneer Square
• Seattle Center
• Waterfront Park (Pier 62), via Seattle Sounders/Reign.
• Pacific Place
• Victory Hall (SODO)