2026 WAFF World Cup

Template:Infobox international football competition

The 2026 WAFF World Cup was a professional association football tournament, the world championship for national football teams organized by WAFF. The 17th edition of the WAFF World Cup, it took place in Alstin from 20 June to 18 July 2026, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2018. It was the third World Cup to be held entirely in Crona after the 2006 tournament in the Cape.

Host selection

Participating teams & officials

Qualification

Final draw

Officials

Squads

Venues

Team base camps

WAFF Fan Zones

Format

Opening ceremony

Group stage

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Alstin (H) 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Metzetta 3 2 1 0 6 4 +2 7
3   Oyashima 3 1 0 2 7 9 −2 3
4   Ceylonia 3 0 0 3 3 7 −4 0
Updated to match(es) played on Ongoing. Source: WAFF
(H) Host.
XX June 2026
Alstin   3–1   Oyashima XX, XX
XX June 2026
Metzetta   2-1   Ceylonia XX, XX
XX June 2026
Alstin   2-0   Ceylonia XX, XX
XX June 2026
Metzetta   4-3   Oyashima XX, XX
XX June 2026
Ceylonia   3–2   Oyashima XX, XX
XX June 2026
Alstin   0-0   Metzetta XX, XX

Group B

Template:2026 WAFF World Cup Group B table

XX June 2026
Kiravia   1-0   Zaclaria XX, XX
XX June 2026
Carna   3-2   UAE XX, XX
XX June 2026
Kiravia   2-2   UAE XX, XX
XX June 2026
Carna   0-3   Zaclaria XX, XX
XX June 2026
Kiravia   4-3   Carna XX, XX
XX June 2026
UAE   1–3   Zaclaria XX, XX

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Urcea 3 2 1 0 13 8 +5 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Puertego 3 2 1 0 11 4 +7 7
3   Daxia 3 1 0 2 4 8 −4 3
4  Quetzenkel 3 0 0 3 2 10 −8 0
Updated to match(es) played on Ongoing. Source: WAFF
XX June 2026
Urcea   4–1   Quetzenkel XX, XX
XX June 2026
Daxia   0–2   Puertego XX, XX
XX June 2026
Daxia   3–5   Urcea XX, XX
XX June 2026
Puertego   5–0   Quetzenkel XX, XX
XX June 2026
Urcea   4–4   Puertego XX, XX
XX June 2026
Quetzenkel   0–1   Daxia XX, XX

Group D

Template:2026 WAFF World Cup Group D Table

XX June 2026
Volonia   0–4   Caphiria XX, XX
XX June 2026
Aciria   3–2   Faneria XX, XX
XX June 2026
Caphiria   3–2   Faneria XX, XX
XX June 2026
Volonia   1–3   Aciria XX, XX
XX June 2026
Aciria   4–2   Caphiria XX, XX
XX June 2026
Faneria   3–0   Volonia XX, XX

Group E

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Pelaxia 3 2 1 0 8 3 +5 7 Advance to knockout stage
2   Tierrador 3 1 2 0 6 3 +3 5
3   Hendalarsk 3 1 1 1 9 8 +1 4
4   Pursat 3 0 0 3 1 10 −9 0
Updated to match(es) played on Ongoing. Source: WAFF
XX June 2026
Pelaxia   4–3   Hendalarsk XX, XX
XX June 2026
Tierrador   3–0   Pursat XX, XX
XX June 2026
Hendalarsk   3–3   Tierrador XX, XX
XX June 2026
Pursat   0–4   Pelaxia XX, XX
XX June 2026
Pursat   1–3   Hendalarsk XX, XX
XX June 2026
Tierrador   0–0   Pelaxia XX, XX

Group G

Group H

Knockout stage

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Third place play-off

Final

Statistics

Goalscorers

Discipline

Awards

All-Star Team

Dream Team

Prize money

Final standings

Preparations and cost

Marketing

Sponsorship

Media

Controversies

Involving Hendalarsk

Incited at least in part by the inflammatory rhetoric of then-dí Fischadler head coach Bobál Lászlo, Hendalarsk's Group F game against fierce rivals Eldmora-Regulus was an immensely bad-tempered match which ended up as a 3-3 draw. This sparked furious protests outside the Eldmoran embassy in Frémenwerd, in which hundreds of protestors urinated on the outer wall of the Eldmoran diplomatic compound while Hendalarskara police, officially citing a desire not to escalate the situation, simply watched on. Fines and short community service orders were eventually handed down to many participants in the discorder in the following weeks, but this was widely interpreted by many commentators as a set of slap-on-the-wrist punishments which allowed the Hendalarskara government to formally claim to have addressed the incident without actually taking serious action.

Further controversy followed after the final set of fixtures in the groups. Hendalarsk's 3-1 victory over Pursat meant that a draw between Tierrador and the already-qualified Pelaxia would be sufficient for Tierrador to qualify in second place, and this duly occurred in the form of a dour 0-0 fixture. Bobál was quick to allege that the game had been subject to match-fixing, drawing a sharp rebuke from WAFF, although the Hendalarskara football federation (HFB) did submit a formal complaint around both the scheduling of the final round of fixtures in general and the conduct of the 0-0 draw in particular to WAFF (outcome pending). Hundreds of Hendalarsk-based accounts on IxTwitter were banned for violent threats against Tierradorian players and the referee of the 0-0 draw, Chet Adams, in the game's immediate aftermath, which together with the mass urination incident prompted calls from some quarters in Hendalarsk for a "national reckoning" about fan conduct.

See also