The final for the 2026 World Cup will take place at MetLife Stadium in the New York suburb of East Rutherford, N.J., FIFA announced Sunday, setting up the possibility that the match will be one of the most attended in the tournament's history.
The NFL venue reportedly beat out AT&T Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington for the distinction. Tournament organizers told FIFA that MetLife Stadium can seat around 87,000, and a soldout stadium would land within the top 10 attendances for a World Cup.
The U.S. men's national team will begin their World Cup campaign on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, while co-hosts Mexico will have the tournament's opening match on June 11 at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca. Fellow World Cup co-hosts Canada will play their first match of the competition at Toronto's BMO Field on June 12.
As for AT&T Stadium, the venue will host one of two semifinals, while Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium will have the other. Miami Gardens' Hard Rock Stadium will be the site of the third-place match.
Don't miss an episode of Call It What You Want where Jimmy Conrad, Jesse Marsch and Charlie Davies talk all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States.
The majority of the World Cup will take place in the U.S., but Mexico and Canada have a few stadiums that will serve as official tournament venues. Estadio Akron in the Guadalajara area and Estadio BBVA in the Monterrey area will be the other two stadiums in Mexico to host World Cup matches, while Vancouver's BC Place will also be a site for games.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first edition of the tournament that features 48 teams, up from the 32 that competed at the 2022 event in Qatar. The tournament will run from June 11 to July 19, making it the longest version of the World Cup in FIFA's history.
2026 World Cup venues
United States
- Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
- AT&T Stadium, Dallas
- Gillette Stadium, Boston
- Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
- Levi's Stadium, San Francisco Bay Area
- Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
- Lumen Field, Seattle
- Mercedes Benz Arena, Atlanta
- MetLife Stadium, New York/New Jersey
- NRG Stadium, Houston
- SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
Mexico
- Estadio Akron, Guadalajara
- Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
- Estadio BBVA, Monterrey
Canada
- BC Place, Vancouver
- BMO Field, Toronto
2026 World Cup key dates and venues
- June 11: World Cup opening game and Mexico's first game, Mexico City
- June 12: Canada's first game, Toronto
- June 12: USMNT's first game, Los Angeles
- June 28 to July 3: round of 32 matches in all host cities except Dallas, Guadalajara, Los Angeles and Philadelphia
- July 4 to July 7: Round of 16 hosted in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Mexico City, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle and Vancouver
- July 9 to 11: Quarterfinals hosted in Boston, Kansas City, Los Angeles and Miami
- July 14: Semifinal one, Dallas
- July 15: Semifinal two, Atlanta
- July 18: Third place play-off, Miami
- July 19: Final, New York/New Jersey
