The United States, Canada and Mexico will host the inaugural 48-team FIFA World Cup in 2026, and now we know where all 104 games of football’s biggest knockout tournament will be played.
New York/New Jersey will hold the final on July 19, 2026, beating early favorites Los Angeles and Dallas to become the focal point of the global men’s soccer world.
The 16 host cities in the three countries had no idea which matches they would be allocated for 2026 until Gianni Infantino, president of world governing body FIFA, announced the news on live television on Sunday. The 2020 World Cup will be “the biggest event the world has ever seen”.
Where will the three host countries compete in the group stage?
The U.S. men’s national team, Mexico and Canada all automatically qualified for the tournament. The remaining 45 teams still need to advance.
“There are going to be 48 countries that are very invested in their teams’ performance at the World Cup,” USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter said after the announcement. “It’s going to be a new format that a lot of people are excited about.”
Mexico The World Cup opener will kick off on Thursday, June 11, at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, before playing in Guadalajara on June 18 before returning to Mexico City on June 24.
this U.S. national team It will depart from Los Angeles on June 12, then head north to Seattle on June 19, and finally return to Los Angeles on June 26.
Christian Smith for USMNT/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
Canada The first game will be played in Toronto on Friday, June 12, followed by the second and third group stage games in Vancouver from June 18 to 24.
Who are the winners and losers in the announcement?
Well, New York/New Jersey is the big winner, and momentum seems to have been gathering in recent weeks for Dallas’ bid to host the finals. However, Dallas is arguably the city that has hosted the most games during the World Cup.
Overall, Dallas Stadium will host nine games, the most of any host city @World Cup™ Contest🌎
🇺🇸🇨🇦🇲🇽 #weare26 I #wearedallas pic.twitter.com/IxY2rPHi8L
— FIFA World Cup 26™ Dallas (@FWC26Dallas) February 4, 2024
As expected, the United States will host all knockout matches starting with the quarterfinals, but the U.S. national team must advance to the group stage to have a chance to have fans outside the West Coast watch their games.
Canada’s 10 group stage games will be played between the host cities of Toronto and Vancouver. Both cities will also host a Round of 32 game, while Vancouver will host a Round of 16 game.
Mexico will open the tournament, but has only played 13 of the 104 games, and only three in the knockout stages.
How will it work?
The Men’s World Cup has featured 32 teams since 1998, but by 2026 the tournament will be expanded to include knockout rounds and the number of games will increase from 64 to 104.
The 2026 tournament will have 12 groups of four teams each. The top two teams in each group will advance to the first knockout round along with the eight best third-place teams, for a total of 32 teams.
This will be followed by the round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals.
The games will be held in 16 stadiums, including the U.S. cities of New York, Dallas, Miami, Kansas City, Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco and Boston, and the Mexican venues of Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. It is adjacent to the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Toronto.
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Who gets what?
AT&T Stadium (Dallas)
Capacity (according to the tender document): 92,967
matches: 9
break down: Although Dallas missed the finals, it played the most games of any city – five group games, two Round of 32 games, one Round of 16 game and one semifinal.
AT&T Stadium will host more games than any other stadium at the 2026 World Cup (Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images)
MetLife Stadium (New York/New Jersey)
capacity: 87,157
matches: 8
break down: Five group games, one in the round of 32, one in the round of 16, and then what they all want… the men’s World Cup final.
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Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
capacity: 75,000
matches: 8
break down: There are five games in the group stage, one round of top 32, one round of top 16, and the second round of top four.
Sophie Stadium (Angel)
capacity: 70,240
matches: 8
break down: There are five games in the group stage, two in the top 32 and one in the quarterfinals.
(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
hard rock stadium (Miami)
capacity: 67,518
matches: 7
break down: There are four games in the group stage, the top 32, the quarter-finals and the third-place match.
gillette stadium (Boston)
capacity: 70,000
matches: 7
break down: Five group matches, one round of 32 match and one quarterfinal match.
NRG Stadium (Houston)
capacity: 72,220
matches: 7
break down: There are five games in the group stage, one in the top 32 and one in the top 16.
BC Plaza (Vancouver)
capacity: 54,500
matches: 7
break down: There will be five group matches (including two group matches for Canada), one round of 32 match and one round of 16 match.
arrowhead stadium (Kansas City)
capacity: 76,640
matches: 6
break down: Four group matches, one round of 32 and one quarterfinal match.
Lumen field (Seattle)
capacity: 69,000
matches: 6
break down: There are four games in the group stage, one in the top 32 and one in the top 16.
BMO field (Toronto)
capacity: 45,736 (tournament capacity expanded from current 30,000)
matches: 6
break down: Five group games (including co-hosting Team Canada’s opener) and round of 32
Levi’s Stadium (San Francisco Bay Area)
capacity: 70,909
matches: 6
break down: There are five games in the group stage and one round of top 32.
Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
capacity: 69,328
matches: 6
break down: July 4 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and there will be five group matches and the round of 16.
Aztec Stadium (Mexico City)
capacity: 87,523
matches: 5
break down: The opening match on June 11 will be against Mexico; there are also two group matches, one in the top 32 and one in the top 16.
akron stadium (Guadalajara)
capacity: 48,071
matches: 4
break down: Only four group matches.
BBVA Stadium (Monterey)
capacity: 53,460
matches: 4
break down: Three group matches and one round of 16 match.
What else do I need to know?
If you love championship football and you live in North America, you’ve come to the right place.
The United States will host the America’s Cup in June and July this year, with 16 teams competing for the final in Miami on July 14.
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Complete America’s Cup schedule
(Above: Eva Marie Uzcategui – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
