The USA, Canada and Mexico will host the primary 48-team version of the FIFA World Cup in 2026 — and now we all know the place all 104 matches within the largest knockout event in soccer historical past can be happening.
New York/New Jersey will stage the ultimate on July 19, 2026, beating out early favorites Los Angeles and Dallas to land the showpiece occasion in males’s world soccer.
The 16 host cities throughout three international locations didn’t know which matches they might be allotted till Gianni Infantino, president of world governing physique FIFA, made the bulletins in a dwell televised present on Sunday, saying the 2026 event can be “the most important spectacle the world has ever seen”.
The place will the three host nations play their group matches?
The U.S. males’s nationwide staff, Mexico and Canada have all been granted computerized locations on the event. The remaining 45 groups nonetheless must qualify.
“There’s going to be 48 international locations which might be deeply invested in how their staff does on the World Cup,” USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter stated after the announcement. “It’s going to be a brand new format and thrilling for lots of people.”
Mexico will kick off within the World Cup’s opening match at Estadio Azteca in Mexico Metropolis on Thursday, June 11, then play in Guadalajara on June 18 after which again in Mexico Metropolis on June 24.
The USMNT will begin in Los Angeles on June 12, then head north to Seattle on June 19 earlier than returning to Los Angeles on June 26.
USMNT’s Christian Pulisic (Howard Smith/ISI Pictures/USSF/Getty Photographs for USSF)
Canada will play their first match in Toronto on Friday, June 12, after which have their second and third group matches in Vancouver on June 18 and 24.
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Who have been the winners and losers from the announcement?
Properly, New York/New Jersey was the large winner, with momentum having appeared to have gathered behind Dallas’ bid to host the ultimate in current weeks. Dallas, although, can level to internet hosting essentially the most matches of any metropolis in the course of the event.
Total Dallas Stadium will host the MOST matches out of any host metropolis with 9 @FIFAWorldCup™ matches 🌎
🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇲🇽 #WeAre26 l #WeAreDallas pic.twitter.com/IxY2rPHi8L
— FIFA World Cup 26™ Dallas (@FWC26Dallas) February 4, 2024
The USA, as anticipated, is internet hosting all of the knockout matches from the quarterfinals onwards however the USMNT should progress past the group stage to have an opportunity for followers outdoors of the West Coast to see them play.
Canada’s 10 group stage video games can be break up down the center between the 2 host cities, Toronto and Vancouver. Each cities can even host one last-32 sport whereas Vancouver will play host to a spherical of 16 sport.
Mexico will open the event however has solely 13 of the 104 matches, and solely three knockout matches.
How will it work?
The boys’s World Cup has featured 32 groups since 1998 but it surely’s going giant for 2026 with a further knockout spherical and 104 matches quite than 64.
The 2026 event will function 12 teams of 4 groups. The highest two sides from every group will advance to the primary knockout stage alongside the eight best-performing third-placed sides — 32 groups in whole.
From there there can be a spherical of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and the ultimate.
The competitors can be staged throughout 16 stadiums, with the U.S. cities New York, Dallas, Miami, Kansas Metropolis, Houston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco and Boston being joined by Mexican venues Mexico Metropolis, Monterrey and Guadalajara, alongside Canadian cities Vancouver and Toronto.
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Who acquired what?
AT&T Stadium (Dallas)
Capability (in accordance with bid guide): 92,967
Matches: 9
Breakdown: Dallas missed out on the ultimate however did get essentially the most matches of any metropolis — 5 group-stage matches, two within the spherical of 32, a final 16 and a semifinal.
The AT&T Stadium will host extra matches than another stadium on the 2026 World Cup (Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Photographs)
MetLife Stadium (New York/New Jersey)
Capability: 87,157
Matches: 8
Breakdown: 5 group matches, a spherical of 32, a spherical of 16 after which the one all of them wished… the boys’s World Cup ultimate.
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Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Capability: 75,000
Matches: 8
Breakdown: 5 group-stage matches, a spherical of 32, a spherical of 16 and the second semifinal.
SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles)
Capability: 70,240
Matches: 8
Breakdown: 5 group-stage matches, two within the spherical of 32 and one quarterfinal.
(Ronald Martinez/Getty Photographs)
Laborious Rock Stadium (Miami)
Capability: 67,518
Matches: 7
Breakdown: 4 group-stage matches, a spherical of 32, a quarterfinal and the third-place playoff.
Gillette Stadium (Boston)
Capability: 70,000
Matches: 7
Breakdown: 5 group-stage matches, a spherical of 32 and a quarterfinal.
NRG Stadium (Houston)
Capability: 72,220
Matches: 7
Breakdown: 5 group-stage matches, one spherical of 32 and a spherical of 16.
BC Place (Vancouver)
Capability: 54,500
Matches: 7
Breakdown: 5 group-stage matches (together with two of Canada’s group matches), one spherical of 32 and a spherical of 16.
Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas Metropolis)
Capability: 76,640
Matches: 6
Breakdown: 4 group-stage matches, one spherical of 32 and a quarterfinal.
Lumen Area (Seattle)
Capability: 69,000
Matches: 6
Breakdown: 4 group-stage matches, a spherical of 32 and a spherical of 16.
BMO Area (Toronto)
Capability: 45,736 (increasing from present 30,000 for the event)
Matches: 6
Breakdown: 5 group matches (together with co-host Canada’s opening sport) and a spherical of 32
Levi’s Stadium (San Francisco Bay Space)
Capability: 70,909
Matches: 6
Breakdown: 5 group-stage matches and one spherical of 32.
Lincoln Monetary Area (Philadelphia)
Capability: 69, 328
Matches: 6
Breakdown: 5 group-stage matches and a spherical of 16 on July 4 — the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Estadio Azteca (Mexico Metropolis)
Capability: 87,523
Matches: 5
Breakdown: The opening match on June 11, that includes co-hosts Mexico; two extra group matches, a spherical of 32 match and a spherical of 16.
Estadio Akron (Guadalajara)
Capability: 48,071
Matches: 4
Breakdown: 4 group matches solely.
Estadio BBVA (Monterrey)
Capability: 53,460
Matches: 4
Breakdown: Three group-stage matches and a spherical of 16.
What else do I must know?
Should you like event soccer and you reside in North America, you’re in the suitable place.
The U.S. will host the Copa America in June and July this yr, with 16 groups vying to win the ultimate in Miami on July 14.
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(Prime photograph: Eva Marie Uzcategui – FIFA/FIFA by way of Getty Photographs)
