What Happened
With the domestic soccer season now finished in most of the world’s major leagues, the re are only a few weeks to go until the 2026 World Cup kicks off. Fear not, soccer aficionados—you won’t have to go completely with out the beautiful game in the meantime.
The re is still plenty of international action to sink your teeth into, with nations across the globe playing warm-up friendlies as the y fine-tune the ir preparations for the tournament. Here are our picks of the matches worth watching.
World Cup 2026 Friendlies: Biggest & Best Games Erling Haaland will lead Norway into the ir first World Cup of the 21st century. | Fredrik Varfjell/NTB/AFP/Getty Images While almost every World Cup nation is in action over the next couple of weeks, with teams playing one or two warm-up fixtures ahead of the tournament, the re are a handful of standout matchups involving some of the world’s biggest soccer powers.
Why It Matters
First up is a particularly tasty clash between Croatia and Belgium on June 2. Both nations are navigating periods of transition, with several stars from the ir golden generations either retired, winding down the ir careers, or being phased out in favor of emerging talent. As a result, it should provide an intriguing glimpse into how each side might fare this summer in North America.
Two days later, France takes on Ivory Coast, pitting one of the tournament favorites against a nation many believe has the talent to spring a surprise. The weekend, however, is when things really heat up. On Saturday, June 6, Portugal faces Chile, the United States takes on Germany, England meets New Zealand, and Brazil squares off against Egypt —all fixtures that should offer plenty of entertainment and insight.
On Sunday, reigning world champion Argentina, led by Lionel Messi as he prepares for a sixth World Cup appearance, faces Honduras. Norway is arguably the standout fixture. Africa’s champion—albeit one crowned amid controversy —against the team many are tipping as this summer’s dark horse. Achraf Hakimi versus Erling Haaland. Alexander Sørloth versus Ismael Saibari. Oscar Bobb versus Ayyoub Bouaddi.
What Comes Next
Brahim Díaz versus Martin Ødegaard. (We couldn’t make that last one rhyme, sorry.) It’s a matchup packed with fascinating individual battles—and one that could tell us a lot about two teams hoping to make deep runs at the World Cup. The action continues next week, too.
Among the standout fixtures are DR Congo—one of the World Cup debutants—taking on Chile, Argentina facing Iceland, Portugal meeting Nigeria and England squaring off against Costa Rica. World Cup 2026 Friendlies Schedule Stadion HNK Rijeka, Croatia Netherlands vs. Algeria Estadio de Riazor, Spain France vs. Ivory Coast Stade de la Beaujoire, France Estádio do Jamor, Portgual United States vs.
New Zealand Raymond James Stadium, USA Huntington Bank Field, USA Argentina vs. Honduras Pankritio Stadium, Greece France vs. Northern Ireland Decathlon Arena, France Municipal de La Línea de la Concepción, Spain Saudi Arabia vs. Magalhaes Pessoa, Portugal England vs. Costa Rica Inter&Co Stadium, USA READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, PREVIEWS & ANALYSIS HERE