The 2026 World Cup final will be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The tournament will span across North America, including the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The MetLife Stadium, with a capacity of 82,500, is located in New Jersey but is only five miles away from New York City. It serves as the home stadium for the NFL teams, the New York Jets and Giants. In February 2014, it was the venue for the Super Bowl and in 2016, it hosted the final of the Copa America Centenario.
The upcoming World Cup will be the inaugural event featuring 48 teams, in contrast to previous editions. The final match will occur on July 19th, following a 39-day tournament including 104 games, the highest number in World Cup history. The first game is scheduled for June 11th at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, which has previously hosted the tournament’s opening match in 1970 and 1986.
The inaugural men’s World Cup game in Canada is scheduled for June 12 at Toronto’s BMO Field, where the Canadian team will kick off their campaign. Vancouver’s BC Place, with a capacity of 54,500, will host Canada’s second and third group stage matches. Canada’s interim manager, Mauro Biello, emphasized the significance of having matches across the country.
The United States’ first game will take place on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. This same stadium will also hold the opening ceremony for the 2028 LA Olympics and previously hosted the Super Bowl two years ago. The US team will also play their last group match at SoFi and their other initial round game at Seattle’s Lumen Field, allowing the co-hosts to remain on the west coast for their first three matches.
“You think of LA an iconic soccer city, already hosting two World Cup finals with the men’s in 1994 and the women’s in 1999 and 2003 … there’s a lot going on in LA and SoFi stadium is an amazing venue,” said US manager Gregg Berhalter. “Then thinking about Seattle with its rich fan culture, loud atmosphere in the stadium … it’s going to be an incredible atmosphere in all those stadiums.”
The third-place playoff will be held at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The semi-finals will occur in Dallas and Atlanta, while the quarter-finals will be held in Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, and Boston. The round of 16 games will take place in Vancouver, Seattle, Mexico City, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New York/New Jersey. All host cities will have one round of 32 match, except for Guadalajara and Philadelphia.
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Dallas, which some had tipped to host the final, will stage nine matches at the tournament, more than any other city.
Source: theguardian.com
