 Aerial view of MetLife Stadium in 2014, the host venue for the final | |
| Event | 2026 FIFA World Cup |
|---|---|
| Date | July 19, 2026 |
| Venue | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey |
The 2026 FIFA World Cup final will be the final match of the 2026 World Cup, the 23rd edition of FIFA's competition for men's national football teams. The match is scheduled to be played at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, near New York City, on July 19, 2026.
FIFA announced the date of the final on March 16, 2023. [1] The host of the final, MetLife Stadium, was announced by FIFA on February 4, 2024. [2] The announcement was originally anticipated for late 2023, but was delayed amid planning difficulties. [3]
The selected host venue for the final is MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 10 miles (16 km) west of New York City. [4] During the tournament, FIFA will refer to the venue as "New York New Jersey Stadium" due to their sponsorship policies. [5] MetLife Stadium has primarily been used by the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) since it opened in 2009. [4] It has a listed capacity of 82,500 seats and previously hosted Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014 and the Copa América Centenario final in 2016. [6] [7] MetLife Stadium will also host the FIFA Club World Cup final in 2025. [8]
The stadium is scheduled host seven other matches during the World Cup. During the tournament, the Meadowlands Rail Line, a shuttle train with no regular service, [9] and a new, $35 million busway are planned to be used to transport attendees from the nearest transit hub at Secaucus Junction. [4] [10]
The United 2026 bid—composed of the United States, Mexico, and Canada—was chosen to host the 2026 World Cup by FIFA during the 68th FIFA Congress on June 13, 2018. The bid planned to use 16 host cities spread across the three countries, with all matches from the quarterfinals onward played in the United States. [11] [12] The venue for the final was not confirmed at the time, with MetLife Stadium named an early frontrunner due to its proximity to New York City and prior experience as host for major sporting events. [13] [14] [15] Its main competitor was SoFi Stadium, a new stadium in Inglewood, California, near Los Angeles, which was among the ten U.S. stadiums announced in June 2022. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the Los Angeles area venue that hosted the 1994 men's final and 1999 women's final, was not chosen for the tournament due to its age. [16]
SoFi Stadium was designed primarily for American football with a field that is 69 yards (63 m) wide—narrower than FIFA's recommended dimensions. [17] According to media reports, the stadium's owner, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, was also unhappy with the revenue-sharing deal proposed by FIFA and threatened to cancel their plans to host World Cup matches. [18] [19] In early 2023, AT&T Stadium in the Dallas area emerged as a potential host for the final due to its higher capacity of 90,000 seats and scheduled renovations to accommodate a wider field. [20] [21] In January 2024, MetLife Stadium announced similar plans to widen its field for the World Cup by removing 1,740 seats in the corners. [22] According to The Athletic , the selection of MetLife Stadium came as a "surprise" to local officials, who organized a small viewing party for the announcement. Dallas's bid had been favored—and rumored as the winner in January—and included a simulcast of the match at two nearby venues to increase ticket revenue. [23]
On September 28, 2024, FIFA announced that Global Citizen would co-produce a halftime show for the World Cup final, similar to those in the NFL's Super Bowl. It will be the first halftime show in the history of the FIFA World Cup. [24]
| Winner Match 101 | Match 104 | Winner Match 102 |
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Match rules
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East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located 7 miles (11 km) west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,022, an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 2010 census count of 8,913, which in turn reflected an increase of 197 (+2.3%) from the 8,716 counted in the 2000 census.
The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports complex located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The facility is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). It is named for the New Jersey Meadowlands, upon which it was built.
The New York City 2012 Olympic bid was one of the five short-listed bids for the 2012 Summer Olympics, ultimately won by London.
Adrar Stadium, is a multi-use stadium in Agadir, in the Souss-Massa region in the country of Morocco, near the Atlas Mountains, in North Africa, and is used as a home venue by the local football team, Hassania Agadir. It is also sometimes used for the Moroccan national team and for other FIFA and CAF international football matches as a neutral venue.
MetLife Stadium is an open-air multi-purpose stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. It opened in 2010, replacing Giants Stadium, and serves as the home for the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). It is also scheduled to host the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. At an approximate cost of $1.6 billion, it was the most expensive stadium built in the United States at the time of its completion.
The United States Soccer Federation submitted a bid with the hope of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. U.S. Soccer first said in February 2007 that it would put forth a bid for the 2018 World Cup. On January 28, 2009, U.S. Soccer announced that it would submit bids for both the 2018 and 2022 Cups. In October 2010 it withdrew from the 2018 bid process to focus on winning the 2022 edition. On December 2, 2010, it was announced that Qatar would be the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Hassan II Stadium is a planned football stadium to be built in Benslimane, just east of Casablanca. Once completed in 2028, it will be used mostly for football matches and will serve as the home of the Morocco national football team. The stadium is planned to have a capacity of 115,000 spectators, making it the largest football stadium in the world. It will also replace Stade Mohammed V as the home stadium of Morocco's largest clubs Raja CA and Wydad AC.
The FIFA Fan Festivals are public viewing events organized by FIFA and the host cities during the FIFA World Cup. FIFA Fan Festivals followed the success of public viewing at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and became an essential part of the tournament since the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Fan Festivals take place in iconic locations of the host cities and feature broadcasts of football matches on giant screens, live concerts, parties, food, beverages, and other activities and entertainment. In 2022, FIFA reintroduced Fan Festivals under the new name for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men's soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by 16 cities in three North American countries: Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The tournament will be the first hosted by three nations and the first North American World Cup since 1994.
The 2030 FIFA World Cup will be the 24th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The 2030 World Cup will mark the centennial World Cup competition. The tournament will take place from 13 June to 21 July 2030.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup bidding process resulted in the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) selecting the joint United States / Canada / Mexico bid as the location for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
As of 2024, New Jersey has six teams from major professional sports leagues playing in the state, with only one team identifying themselves as solely being from the state. The other remaining teams identify themselves as being from the New York metropolitan area with the National Women's Soccer League team having a team name that includes both New Jersey and New York. The National Hockey League and National Basketball Association teams representing Philadelphia have their training facilities in South Jersey.
SoFi Stadium is a 70,240-seat sports and entertainment indoor-outdoor stadium in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. SoFi occupies the former site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack, 0.15 miles (0.24 km) southeast of the Kia Forum, 0.2 miles (0.32 km) northwest of Intuit Dome, and 3 miles (4.8 km) from Los Angeles International Airport.
The sport of soccer has a long history in New York City, beginning in the 1910s with the first iteration of the American Soccer League. In the 1970s, with the rise of the first iteration of the North American Soccer League, the New York Cosmos became one of the most recognizable brands in American soccer.
United 2026, also known as the North American 2026 bid, was a successful joint bid led by the United States Soccer Federation, together with the Canadian Soccer Association and the Mexican Football Federation, to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The Morocco 2026 FIFA World Cup bid was Morocco's unsuccessful bid to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It competed with the United 2026 bid of Canada, Mexico, and the United States for hosting rights.
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup is the planned 21st edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, an international club soccer competition organized by FIFA. The tournament is scheduled to be played in the United States from June 14 to July 13, 2025. It is planned to be the first under an expanded format with 32 teams, including the winners of the four previous continental championships.
The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final will be the final match of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, the 21st edition of the premier competition for men's club soccer teams organized by FIFA. The match is scheduled to be played at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, near New York City, on July 13, 2025.
Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) | |
| Tournaments |
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| Qualification | |
| Finals | |
| Squads | |
| Final draw | |
| Broadcasters | |
| Bids | |
| Officials | |
| Team appearances | |
| Overall records |
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| Miscellaneous | |
