The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup final will take place on July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. MetLife is home to both the New York Jets and New York Giants and also hosts various concerts and other sporting events. It’s large capacity of over 82,000 makes it an ideal place to hold the final of one of the biggest sporting events in the world.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced on Feb. 4 that East Rutherford will be the next host of the World Cup. This will be the only game MetLife will host throughout the tournament. The stadium will have its turf replaced with natural grass in preparation for the game and will need to remove some of the seats from the stadium’s lower bowl to fit FIFA’s field requirements.
The United States is hosting the World Cup for the second time, and first time in 32 years, alongside Mexico and Canada. The last time the United States hosted was in 1994, when the U.S. team made it to the final 16 of the tournament (the third round before the final). The bulk of the World Cup games will be primarily held in the States, as 11 out of the 16 total tournament stadiums are in the U.S.
The first game of the tournament will kick off in Mexico City followed by group-stage games being played throughout all three countries. The quarterfinals will be played in Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium), Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium) and Boston (Gillette Stadium); the semifinals will be held in Dallas (AT&T Stadium) and Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium).
Throughout the duration of the tournament, MetLife Stadium will be referred to as “New York New Jersey Stadium” because of FIFA’s plan to keep the stadium names generic instead of using corporate names. Ticket prices and sales have still yet to be released.
Photo Credit: “Metlife Stadium Meadowlands New Jersey” by Anthony Quintano is licensed (CC BY 2.0 Deed).
