The 2026 World Cup closing can be held on the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 11, world soccer’s governing physique FIFA has introduced.
The world’s hottest sporting occasion can be held in 16 cities throughout america, Canada and Mexico, based on the match schedule unveiled by FIFA on Sunday.
The 48-team World Cup will open on June 11 in Mexico Metropolis’s Estadio Azteca and conclude on July 19 on the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford in New Jersey.
FIFA officers didn’t clarify their site-decision course of.
Canada will host 13 video games in complete, together with 10 within the group stage, cut up evenly between Toronto and Vancouver. Mexico will even get 13 video games, together with 10 through the group stage, in Mexico Metropolis, Guadalajara and Monterrey. The remainder of the match can be held in 11 cities throughout the US.
Toronto, Mexico Metropolis, and Los Angeles will host the opening matches of their respective nationwide groups.
🇺🇸 The #FIFAWorldCup 26 closing is headed to New York New Jersey!#WeAre26
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 4, 2024
The open-air stadium for the ultimate, which opened in 2010 and value $1.6bn, hosted the Copa America Centenario closing in 2016 when Chile denied Lionel Messi’s Argentina for a second time in a penalty shootout.
FIFA didn’t announce kickoff occasions for the video games.
Mexico Metropolis’s Estadio Azteca will host the opening match of the match on June 11, when Mexico will turn into the primary nation to stage the World Cup for a 3rd time. The opening day will even characteristic a match in Guadalajara.
Mexico hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986, with the finals of each editions held at Estadio Azteca the place Pele’s Brazil crushed Italy 4-1 and Diego Maradona’s Argentina beat West Germany 3-2.
Maradona additionally scored the well-known “hand of God” purpose and the “purpose of the century” on the identical venue in a 2-1 victory over England within the 1986 quarterfinal.
📍 Mexico Metropolis
🏟️ Estadio Azteca
🗓️ 11 June 2026🇲🇽 The #FIFAWorldCup 26 opening match is coming to Mexico!
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 4, 2024
The primary match in Canada, which has by no means hosted a World Cup sport, can be on June 12 in Toronto on the house of town’s Main League Soccer crew, whereas the opening sport within the US can be in Los Angeles.
Every of the match hosts will spend the group stage in their very own international locations, with the USA crew sticking to the West Coast and taking part in twice in Los Angeles and as soon as in Seattle.
Canada will play one group stage sport in Toronto, adopted by two in Vancouver, whereas Mexico will play twice at Estadio Azteca and as soon as in Guadalajara.
The match will shift totally to the US beginning with the quarterfinals, which can be held in Los Angeles, Kansas Metropolis, Miami and Boston.
Dallas and Atlanta will host the 2 semifinals on July 14 and 15, respectively, Miami would be the venue of the third-place playoff, whereas Philadelphia will host a round-of-16 match on July 4 to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The 2026 World Cup will characteristic 104 matches as an alternative of the standard 64 video games, together with an extra knockout spherical because of the beforehand introduced choice to increase to 48 groups from 32.
A nation might want to play eight matches to win the title, up from seven since 1982.
Given the gap and totally different climates throughout the 16 host cities, FIFA opted to divide the venues getting used into three areas – east, central and west – with groups working out of a base camp in the identical area as their video games.
The stadiums in Arlington, Atlanta and Houston have retractable roofs which are anticipated to be closed due to summer time warmth, and Inglewood and Vancouver have fastened roofs.
Synthetic turf can be changed by grass in Arlington, Atlanta, East Rutherford, Foxborough, Houston, Inglewood and Vancouver.
A number of of the venues are anticipated to widen their surfaces to accommodate a 75-by-115-yard (68-by-105-metre) taking part in discipline.