FIFA revealed on Sunday that the 2026 World Cup final is set to take place at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, home to the National Football League's New York Giants and New York Jets. The 48-team tournament, will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and culminate on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
Canada and Mexico will host 10 group stage matches split evenly between Toronto and Vancouver, while the United States will host the majority of the tournament across 11 cities. Another set of 10 group-stage matches will be held in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
🇺🇸 The #FIFAWorldCup 26 final is headed to New York New Jersey!#WeAre26
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 4, 2024
Toronto, Mexico City, and Los Angeles will host the opening matches of their respective national teams.
The open-air stadium for the final, which opened in 2010 and has a capacity of 82,500, hosted the Copa America Centenario final in 2016 when Chile denied Lionel Messi's Argentina for a second time in a penalty shootout.
Mexico City's Estadio Azteca will host the opening match of the tournament on June 11 when Mexico will become the first nation to stage the World Cup for a third time. The opening day will also feature a match in Guadalajara.
Mexico head coach Jaime Lozano, said in translated comments that his squad will have pressure playing in front of home fans but that they are also happy to feature in the opening game and called it a special day in his life and of the national team.
Mexico hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986, with the finals of both editions held at Estadio Azteca where Pele's Brazil crushed Italy 4-1 and Diego Maradona's Argentina beat West Germany 3-2.
Maradona also scored the famous "Hand of God" goal and the "Goal of the Century" at the same venue in a 2-1 victory over England in the 1986 quarter-finals.
The first match in Canada, which has never hosted a World Cup game, will be June 12 in Toronto at the home of the city's Major League Soccer team while the opening game in the United States will be in Los Angeles at the home of the NFL's Rams.
📍 Mexico City
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 4, 2024
🏟️ Estadio Azteca
🗓️ 11 June 2026
🇲🇽 The #FIFAWorldCup 26 opening match is coming to Mexico!
Home Sweet Home
Each tournament host will spend the group stage in their own countries, with the United States sticking to the West Coast and playing twice in Los Angeles and once in Seattle.
"We're counting on the public getting behind us," said U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter. "I'm excited for the public to get to know some of our players and get a personal connection with them because it's a great group of guys."
Canada will play one group stage game in Toronto, and two in Vancouver, while Mexico will play twice at Estadio Azteca and once in Guadalajara.
🇲🇽🇨🇦🇺🇸 Three countries. Three openers.#WeAre26 | #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 5, 2024
Canada is winless in six matches across their two World Cup appearances and only scored their first goal in 2022. Still, interim head coach Mauro Biello admitted expectations will be much higher playing at home.
"I think about that game in Qatar when we scored our first goal, and I am sure when we get that first win it will be a great moment for this country," said Biello. "And that's the objective, win the first one and then move on to the next round."
The tournament will shift entirely to the United States starting with the quarter-final round, which will be held in Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami, and Boston.
Dallas and Atlanta will host the two semi-finals, Miami will be the site of the third-place playoff while 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 feature 104 matches instead of the traditional 64 games, including an additional knockout round due to the previously announced decision to expand to 48 teams from 32.
(With Reuters inputs)
First Published: Feb 5, 2024 1:17 PM IST
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
Over 50 onion farmers detained in Nashik ahead of PM Modi's visit
May 16, 2024 11:14 AM
Why Google CEO is cautiously optimistic about the election year
May 16, 2024 9:51 AM
Mark Mobius reveals how markets will react if NDA wins 400+ Lok Sabha seats
May 15, 2024 8:09 PM