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ARLINGTON, Texas — After years of speculation, we officially know where the 2026 World Cup Final will be held.
It won’t be in North Texas. Instead, it’ll be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
AT&T Stadium in Arlington will host a semi-final match, a round of 16 match, two round of 32 matches, and five group stage matches, bringing its total to nine matches — the most of any site in the tournament.
The official announcement from FIFA came on Feb. 4 after the organization took several visits around the US, including site visits to Jerry World in August 2022, March 2023 and September 2023.
AT&T Stadium will host nine total matches in the tournament:
The announcement comes after AT&T Stadium had been reported and rumored numerous times over the years by ESPN Deportes and The Sun to be the World Cup Final venue.
Here is everything we know from Sunday’s announcement:
MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.)
The World Cup Final in 2026 will be held at MetLife Stadium. MetLife Stadium is in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and is home to the New York Giants and New York Jets. It was also a host venue in the 1994 World Cup. In 1994, then called Giants Stadium, it hosted four group stage matches, a Round of 16 match, a quarter-finals match and a semi-final match.
Overall opening/first Mexico game: Estadio Azteca (Mexico City, Mexico)
The World Cup Opening Match in 2026 will be held at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on June 11. It is regarded as one of the most famous soccer stadiums in the world. It will become the first stadium in history to host three World Cups.
It was the venue for the 1970 World Cup Final and the 1986 World Cup Final. The stadium also hosted the “Game of the Century,” when Italy defeated West Germany 4–3 in extra time in one of the 1970 semifinal matches.
First U.S. game: SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, Calif., U.S.)
The first U.S. game in the 2026 World Cup will be held at SoFi Stadium on June 12. SoFi Stadium is no stranger to holding big sporting events, hosting Super Bowl LVI in 2022 and the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2023.
SoFi Stadium has also hosted numerous international soccer matches, including the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final and friendly between Arsenal and FC Barcelona. It is also set to be a hosting venue for the 2024 Copa America tournament this summer.
First Canada game: BMO Field (Toronto, Canada)
Canada’s first match in the 2026 World Cup will be held at BMO Field in Toronto, home of MLS club Toronto FC, June 12. BMO Field has hosted the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup and numerous friendlies among top clubs in the world.
As part of the full match announcement (pictured below), we learned where the USMNT will play their group matches. As stated above, their Opening Match will be played at SoFi Stadium. They’ll stay on the West Coast and play their second group stage match at Lumen Field in Seattle (Friday, June 19, 2026), before returning to Los Angeles to close out group play at SoFi again (Thursday, June 25, 2026).
FIFA shared the following grid of games during its announcement broadcast:
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to be the biggest one in history.
Historically, there are 32 teams in the World Cup. The 2026 World Cup will mark the first time in history that the field is expanded to 48 teams.
Originally, the plan was to have 16 groups of three teams, yielding 80 games. But in March 2023, FIFA approved a new format for the 2026 World Cup, increasing the amount of games that will be played. The organization created a 104-game schedule that will last nearly six weeks in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The 16 host cities — 11 in the United States, three in Mexico and two in Canada — now have 24 extra games to stage on top of the 80 they already had for the inaugural 48-team tournament.
There will be 12 groups of four teams.
Aside from U.S., Mexico and Canada, the 2026 World Cup field has yet to be determined. Each soccer federation in the world has its own qualifying process approved by FIFA, some of which have already started playing out last fall. Here is a breakdown of how many teams each federation gets and when their qualifying process starts and is scheduled to finish:
The World Cup historically takes place in the summer, usually in June or July. The 2022 World Cup strayed from this trend due Qatar’s harsh climate in the summertime and moved it into November.
The World Cup final is set for Sunday, July 19, 2026.
The 2026 World Cup was already set to earn up to $3 billion in ticket and hospitality sales for FIFA, and massively increase the tournament attendance record.
Some estimates suggest the World Cup will generate more than $400 million for the region and create roughly 3,000 jobs. Securing the matches also offers cities a rare opportunity to promote themselves on a global stage.
“This will be the largest event we’ve ever seen here in the North Texas area,” Dallas Sports Commission executive director Monica Paul told WFAA in October 2023. “In essence, you have everything the Super Bowl has… We might have eight matches at AT&T Stadium, so we’d be looking at roughly eight Super Bowls.”
The Associated Press reported that the 1994 Cup drew a record 3.59 million fans and grossed $580 million, which produced a profit of $133.25 million for FIFA and $50 million for the U.S. organizing committee. FIFA said the 2018 World Cup in Russia produced $5.357 billion in revenue over the four-year cycle and a $3.533 billion surplus.
This part is multifaceted. You can start with the fact that one of soccer’s founding fathers in America, Lamar Hunt, went to college at SMU and lived in Dallas. Hunt was one of the original investors in Major League Soccer (MLS), owning two teams: the Columbus Crew and the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City). In 2003, Hunt purchased a third team, the Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas). Lamar Hunt died December 13, 2006, at Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas of complications related to prostate cancer. The U.S. Open Cup, which dates back to 1913, was renamed the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in 1999.
The National Soccer Hall of Fame is in Frisco in the south end of FC Dallas’ Toyota Stadium. Throughout the museum, there are hundreds of pieces of soccer memorabilia, including FIFA Women’s World Cup trophies, championship jerseys, and a Hall of Fame inductees wall. USMNT legend and East Texas native Clint Dempsey was inducted this year.
The soccer culture is deeply-rooted in North Texas, from the big leagues to the kiddos. Dallas is home to the second largest youth soccer organization in the country, according to Dallas Sports Commission. The DFW area is home to many youth soccer tournaments and other events that typically draw hundreds of teams and thousands of young athletes and their families, most notably the Dallas Cup.
The list of distinguished alumni of the Dallas Cup includes (but is not limited to): David Beckham, Clint Dempsey, Chicharito, Landon Donovan, Raul, Andrea Pirlo, Michael Bradley, Wayne Rooney, Alphonso Davies, Bukayo Saka, Weston McKennie, and Mason Greenwood. In fact, Dallas Cup alumni have gone on to play in over 500 World Cup matches, according to the event’s website.
No.
The United States hosted the World Cup in 1994. This is the first time Canada will host the men’s iteration of the World Cup, but hosted the Women’s World Cup in 2015, which the U.S. squad won. Mexico has hosted the World Cup twice: in 1970 and 1986.
When the World Cup came to the US in 1994, the Cotton Bowl hosted six games, including a memorable quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Brazil, remembered as arguably the entire tournament’s top match. The Cotton Bowl hosted 4 group stage matches, 1 round of 16 and 1 quarterfinal.
No.
In 2002, South Korea and Japan jointly hosted the FIFA World Cup. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the second time in history the tournament has been hosted by more than one nation and the first time it has been hosted jointly by three countries.
Fans can begin pre-registering for 2026 FIFA World Cup ticket information at fifa.com/tickets.
Pre-registration for information on hospitality packages is also available at FIFA.com/hospitality.
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