The 2026 World Cup finals will be held in New Jersey, the home of the National Football League's (NFL) New York Giants and New York Jets, world soccer governing body FIFA announced on Sunday, marking the start of a global soccer tournament. The full schedule of the showcase has been announced.
The 48-team World Cup concludes on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford and is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Canada will host 13 games, including 10 in the group stage, split evenly between Toronto and Vancouver. Mexico will host 13 matches, including 10 during the group stage in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. The remaining tournaments will be held in 11 cities across the United States.
Toronto, Mexico City and Los Angeles will host their respective national teams' opening games.
Opened in 2010, the 82,500-capacity open-air final stadium hosted the 2016 Copa America Centenario final, where Chile denied Lionel Messi's Argentina a second shot in a penalty shootout. did.
FIFA has not announced the kick-off time for the match.
Mexico City's Azteca Stadium will host the tournament's opening game on June 11, making Mexico the first country to host the World Cup for the third time. A match will also be played in Guadalajara on the first day.
Mexico head coach Jaime Lozano said his team would feel pressure to play in front of their home fans, but was also happy to be playing in the opening game. He called this day a special day in his own life and his national team.
Mexico hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986, with the finals of both competitions being held at the Estadio Azteca, with Pele's Brazil defeating Italy 4-1 and Diego Maradona's Argentina defeating West Germany 3-2. Broke it.
Maradona also scored the famous “Hand of God'' goal and “Goal of the Century'' at the same venue in the 1986 quarter-finals against England in a 2-1 win.
The first game in Canada, which has never hosted a World Cup game before, will be played on June 12 at the home of the Major League Soccer team in Toronto, while the opening game in the United States will be played at the home of the NFL in Los Angeles. Rams.
home sweet home
Each tournament host country will spend the group stage in their home country, with the U.S. sticking to the West Coast, playing twice in Los Angeles and once in Seattle.
Gregg Berhalter, head coach of the U.S. men's national team, said, “We're really looking forward to the support of the public.''
“I’m excited to let the public know about our players and really get a personal connection with them, because they’re a great group of players.”
Canada will play one group stage game in Toronto, followed by two in Vancouver, while Mexico will play two games at Estadio Azteca and one in Guadalajara.
Canada is winless in six games in its two World Cup appearances and only scored its first goal in 2022, but interim head coach Mauro Biello said playing at home will bring much higher expectations. Admitted.
“I remember the game in Qatar where I scored my first goal. I'm sure it will be a great moment for this country when we win for the first time,” Biello said.
“And that's the goal: win the first round and move on to the next round.”
The tournament will move entirely to the United States, starting with quarterfinal rounds in Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami, and Boston.
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Dallas and Atlanta will host two semifinal games, Miami will host the third-place game, and Philadelphia will host a Round of 16 game on July 4 to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
The 2026 World Cup will feature 104 matches instead of the previous 64, including an additional knock-out tournament, due to the decision to expand from the previously announced 32 teams to 48.
Taking into account the distances and climate differences between the 16 host cities, FIFA chose to divide the venues into three regions – Eastern, Central and Western, with each team operating from a base camp in the same region as the match. . Reuters/DM