Apple updated its free Sports app for iPhone Wednesday to support the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. That gives soccer fans a seamless way to track the biggest sporting event on the planet right from their Lock Screen. With the tournament just over two months away, now is the perfect time to get set up.
Apple Sports follows 2026 FIFA World Cup
Soccer fans can now view complete World Cup tournament groupings and follow their favorite national teams directly in Apple Sports. The update reflects the expanded 48-team format, which introduces more groups and a longer competition schedule, and the app now shows complete groupings so users can understand how teams progress from the early stages to the knockout rounds.
This marks a significant departure from the traditional 32-team World Cup structure. And Apple’s app has been built out to handle that additional complexity. By the way, the United States men’s national team sits in Group D, along with Paraguay, Australia and Turkey.
Easy to set it up
Photo: FIFA
Getting started takes only a moment. Click on search, then click on “FIFA World Cup 2026,” marked “new” at upper left. On the next screen, tap the star button at upper right to add it to your “My Leagues” section. And the My Teams section lets you follow specific national teams for more focused updates and match alerts.
You can manage both “My Leagues” and “My Teams” by tapping the “Edit” button from the menu in the top right corner in the search interface.
Live scores on your Lock Screen and Dynamic Island
Photo: FIFA
One of the most compelling features for iPhone users is how Apple Sports surfaces match information without requiring you to open the app at all. Once the corresponding matches start on June 11, Apple Sports will automatically display a Live Activity with real-time information about the game.
The app also links to the Apple TV app so you can quickly jump into live streams where available.
A massive tournament across three countries
Photo: FIFA
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will bring together 48 nations across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The full schedule covers 104 matches across 16 stadiums.
The tournament opens on June 11 and concludes with the final on July 19 — more than five weeks of group-stage drama, knockout rounds and late-night games spread across three time zones.
Apple Sports’ growing soccer coverage
The World Cup addition builds on an already strong foundation. Apple Sports includes support for more than 30 of the top soccer leagues and tournaments across North America, Latin America and Europe. The app also offers tools for navigating between scores and upcoming games, viewing play-by-play and lineup details, and following playoffs as the tournament progresses.
Apple Sports is free and available now on the App Store. If you’re a soccer fan, there’s no reason to wait — set it up today and you’ll be ready to go the moment the first whistle blows in June.
Where to download: App Store
David Snow, an expert on Apple hardware and software, writes on a variety of technological and cultural topics for Cult of Mac. They include Apple news, technology buying guides, and features about computer setups and Apple TV shows and movies.
With 30 years of experience covering technology and other subjects, he has written and edited for numerous print and online publications, including CMP Media, TechTV.com, CNET, Wired News, Red Herring magazine, Law.com, The National Law Journal and Law Technology News magazine. Among other roles, he served as executive editor of the Law.com network of websites and editorial director, technology, for ALM Media.
Snow graduated with a B.A. from Syracuse University with majors in magazine journalism and psychology. While there, he worked as a reporter for The Daily Orange newspaper and associate editor of Equal Time magazine.
Founder of the blog At the Waterline, he can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) via @atthewaterline and on Mastodon via @dsnow.
