Buenos Aires, January 15 (NA)—The groups and match schedule for Los Pumitas for the 2026 Junior World Cup, to be held from June 27 to July 18 in Georgia, have been confirmed. The tournament will take place in Tbilisi and Kutaisi, which will be the second time the European country hosts the premier youth event, following the 2017 edition, according to the Argentine News Agency. Argentina will be in Group C alongside England, Ireland, and the United States, a demanding zone that will be a true test for the team from the start. The group stage will be played on June 27, July 2, and 7, while the semifinals are scheduled for July 13, and the grand final for July 18 of the same month. The competition, now called the World Rugby Junior World Championship, will feature a historic novelty: the expansion to 16 participating teams, divided into four groups of four. The winners of each group will advance directly to the semifinals, while the second-place teams will play for fifth to eighth place, and the remaining teams will define positions from ninth to sixteenth. In addition to the new format, the 2026 Junior World Cup will be the first international competition to include a trial regulation to reduce the height of the tackle, a measure driven by World Rugby with the aim of improving safety and modifying defensive habits from the youth divisions. Regarding the path of Los Pumitas, their debut will be on Saturday, June 27, against the United States at Avchala Stadium, at 06:00 (local time). Then, they will face Ireland on Thursday, July 2, at 08:30, and close the group stage against England on Tuesday, July 7, also at 08:30. With the schedule confirmed and rivals defined, the Argentine junior national team is already beginning to anticipate one of the great challenges of 2026.
