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MetLife Stadium, otherwise home to the New York football club

Photo: Seth Wenig / AP

The 2026 World Cup final will take place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The World Cup will open on June 11, 2026 in the legendary Aztec Stadium in Mexico City. The USA starts the tournament one day later in Los Angeles, and co-host Canada also starts on June 12th in Toronto. The game for third place takes place in Miami.

The world association Fifa published details of the game plan on Sunday evening in a live show in which, in addition to association president Gianni Infantino, Canadian rapper Drake, reality TV star Kim Kardashian and US comedian Kevin Hart were also present.

The Aztec Stadium in Mexico has already hosted some significant World Cup moments. The opening game will make it the first stadium in World Cup history to host games in three finals. Both the 1986 World Cup quarter-final with the famous “Hand of God” by Argentina legend Diego Maradona and the 4:3 in the 1970 World Cup semi-final between Italy and Germany, which became known as the game of the century, were played here.

40 more World Cup games than in 1998

In the USA, football arenas in particular are being converted into football stadiums. MetLife Stadium, where the final is scheduled to take place, is where the NFL football teams New York Giants and New York Jets play their home games. The World Cup semi-finals will be played in the football arenas in Atlanta and Arlington in the US state of Texas, which are equipped with retractable roofs. With nine out of a total of 104 games, the AT&T Stadium near the Texas metropolis of Dallas is also the location with the most fixtures.

The 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico is the first final round with 48 participants. The tournament will therefore feature a total of 104 games, 40 more than at previous World Cups since 1998. Due to the high number of games, the World Cup lasts 39 days, longer than previous tournaments. At the end of 2022, the last and compact final round to date was held in Qatar in 29 days.

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