The MetLife Stadium in New Jersey has emerged as FIFA’s choice to host the 2026 World Cup final. Dallas and Los Angeles had also lobbied hard for the honour, but the summit clash – scheduled for July 19, 2026 – will be played at the 82,500-capacity venue that is home to the National Football League’s Giants and Jets. Los Angeles, which hosted the 1994 final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, doesn’t even get a semi-final, but the USA will play their first match at the SoFi Stadium on June 12.
The tournament, expanded to 48 teams divided into 12 groups of four, kicks off at Mexico City’s historic Azteca Stadium – venue for the 1970 and 1986 finals immortalised by Pele and Diego Maradona – on June 11. Canada, the third host, will have their first game at Toronto’s BMO Field on June 12. The AT&T Stadium in Dallas, home to the US’s most popular sporting franchise – the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys – will host nine games, including one of the semi-finals. Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium gets the other.
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Azteca Stadium in Mexico will host the opening game of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on 11th of June.#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/8uS68YxqE5
— RevSportz (@RevSportz) February 4, 2024
In all, there will be matches played in 11 US cities – New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Kansas City, Seattle, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Boston. Apart from the capital, Mexico will see matches in Guadalajara and Monterrey, while Vancouver is the second Canadian venue.
The World Cup has consisted of 32 teams since the 1998 edition in France. The expansion by 50 per cent means a huge inflation in the number of matches, from 64 to 104. It also necessitates an additional round, the last 32, to start the knockout phase of the competition.
The MetLife Stadium was opened in 2009, replacing the old Giants Stadium where Italy played two of their group matches in 1994. It hosted the 2016 Copa America final where Lionel Messi’s Argentina lost to Chile, and will witness three Copa America matches this coming summer, including a semi-final.
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