2026 World Cup last set for MetLife Stadium, USA kicks off play in L.A.

The 2026 World Cup last will likely be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19, world soccer governing physique FIFA introduced on Sunday.

The USA males’s nationwide group begins its 2026 World Cup journey in Los Angeles, enjoying its first group-stage sport at SoFi Stadium on June 12. The People will play all of their group-stage matches on the West Coast, with the subsequent two video games in Seattle and again in Los Angeles.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, extra (U.S.)

The opening match of the event — hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada — will likely be held in Mexico Metropolis, with Mexico enjoying a yet-to-be decided opponent in its group and the rest of its matches on house soil. This can mark the third time Mexico has hosted World Cup matches, after serving because the host nation in 1970 and 1986.

Canada will host its first-ever males’s World Cup match on June 12 when it begins group play in Toronto, adopted by a pair of video games in Vancouver.

The semifinals will likely be performed on July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the next day at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Quarterfinals will likely be at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on July 9, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the next day, and at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas Metropolis, Missouri, and Arduous Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 11. The third-place sport will likely be at Arduous Rock on July 18.

The U.S. group will practice in suburban Atlanta forward of the event.

“As an advocate for this area, and a lifelong soccer fan, I’m thrilled that FIFA selected to put their belief in New York New Jersey to host the historic FIFA World Cup 26 Ultimate,” mentioned New Jersey governor Phil Murphy. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime alternative for our total area; internet hosting the Ultimate supplies NYNJ an unparalleled platform to brilliantly showcase what we stand for – range, equality, entry, and inclusion.”

FIFA’s goal in laying out the schedule was doing what it may to maximise participant welfare and the fan expertise. The event will likely be held in three international locations and throughout 4 time zones, offering appreciable challenges in ensuring gamers are at their finest and followers can comply with their chosen groups.

For these causes, FIFA consulted a number of stakeholders to verify it deliberate for as many eventualities as attainable.

These stakeholders inside FIFA included consultants in competitors administration, group companies, ticketing and hospitality in addition to medical. Stakeholders exterior of FIFA included broadcasters, sponsors, nationwide group coaches and technical administrators together with their respective medical staffs. The technical staffs of the three host international locations additionally had appreciable enter into their group-stage venues.

FIFA took word of the 2016 Copa America Centenario, which was additionally held in america. In that event, coast-to-coast flights between video games weren’t uncommon, with 9 of the 16 groups enduring not less than one such journey. Paraguay endured two such journeys within the group stage alone. These prolonged journeys ate into participant restoration time and preparation and in addition made it tougher for followers to comply with their groups.

Given the journey distances and the various climates, FIFA divided the venues into three areas: east, central and west, with groups working out of a base camp in the identical area as their video games. This can give FIFA flexibility when it comes to precise kickoff instances to higher cater to each native and worldwide audiences.

As well as, FIFA has ensured that groups could have three full days of relaxation between matches. Out of 104 whole matches, the one exception to this guideline would be the third-place sport on the finish of the event.

FIFA didn’t announce kickoff instances. The 1994 championship began at 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. in Central Europe), however the begin has been moved up in recent times as Asia’s tv market grew to become extra vital to FIFA. The 2022 last in Qatar began at 5 p.m. native time (10 a.m. ET, 4 p.m. in Central Europe and 10 p.m. in Beijing).

Stadiums will likely be assigned to teams somewhat than particular person fixtures in a bid to scale back journey necessities for competing groups.

The journey calls for will not be equal throughout the 48 groups, nonetheless. They are going to be weighted in favor of groups that end on the high of their group, with second-place finishers having less-forgiving journey necessities and third-place groups having the best journey calls for.

FIFA may also be listening to climate circumstances. It has checked out warmth and humidity readings in every of the 16 venue cities, which is able to affect what time of day video games will likely be held. Following the group-stage attract December 2025, the ultimate kickoff instances will likely be introduced.

The 2026 event will characteristic 48 groups for the primary time in historical past, after FIFA expanded the sphere from the 32 it had used since 1998. Solely 24 groups competed in 1994, when america final hosted the boys’s World Cup.

In 1994, america performed two of its group-stage matches on the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and the opposite on the Silverdome in Detroit. The Rose Bowl additionally hosted the ultimate that 12 months — with Brazil topping Italy in a penalty shootout — and once more in 1999 for the Ladies’s World Cup, when america beat China, additionally on penalties.

With three host nations from Concacaf, 45 different groups will advance to the World Cup by the six confederations’ numerous qualification processes.

UEFA (Europe) has 16 slots; CAF (Africa) has 9; AFC (Asia) has eight; CONMEBOL (South America) has six; Concacaf (North and Central America, plus the Caribbean) has three; and Oceania has one. Two extra international locations will earn their place by a six-team playoff involving the non-UEFA confederations, which is able to conclude Nov. 18, 2025.