FIFA World Cup 2026: Schedule, World Cup final stadium announced Sunday
A general view of Brazuca and the FIFA World Cup Trophy (Photo by Alexandre Loureiro/Getty Images for adidas)
The FIFA World Cup 2026 schedule and location for the World Cup final has been revealed.
FOX and Telemundo made the announcement during a special broadcast.
The 23rd FIFA World Cup will be the "biggest and most inclusive ever," according to FOX Sports, with 104 matches across 16 venues in the following cities across Canada, Mexico and the USA: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Monterrey, New York New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Toronto and Vancouver.
Where will the U.S. team play its opener?
The U.S. team will play its opener at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on June 12, then play a week later at Lumen Field in Seattle. They'll return to California to finish the group stage at SoFi on June 25.
The third-place game will be at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
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AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, missed out on getting the World Cup final, but it nine matches, more than any other venue. One of the Arlington games will be a semifinal, FIFA officials said. The other semifinal will take place at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Where will the 2026 World Cup final be held?
The 2026 World Cup final will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19.
The 39-day tournament opens June 11.
View the full schedule here.
FIFA World Cup 2026 format
A model FIFA World Cup trophy is seen prior to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group D match between Tunisia and France at Education City Stadium on November 30, 2022 in Al Rayyan, Qatar. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
The World Cup group stage format for 2026 was changed to 12 groups of four teams from 16 groups of three teams, increasing the total to 104 matches from 64 in the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
To win a World Cup, a nation will have to play eight games, up from the seven in place since 1974.
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The top two teams in each group and the top eight third-place teams will advance to a new round of 32 that starts the knockout phase. Advancement for third-place teams was eliminated for 1998, when the tournament expanded from 24 teams to 32.
More matches mean more content for television broadcasters and more tickets to sell, increasing revenue for FIFA. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be broadcast on FOX.
Check back for updates on the 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule after it’s announced Sunday afternoon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.