FIFA WORLD CUP 2026
Where is MetLife Stadium and what is the capacity of the 2026 World Cup Final stadium?
Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Lionel Messi have all strutted their stuff at the home of the Giants and the Mets.
On Sunday, FIFA announced the match schedule for the 2026 World Cup, which will be played at 16 different venues across the United States, Mexico and Canada between 11 June and 19 July 2026.
How many games will be played in the three host countries?
For the first time ever, 48 teams will take part in the tournament, whose opening game will be played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, which previously hosted both the first and last matches of the 1970 and 1986 editions. That will be one of 13 matches played at three venues in Mexico (along with Monterrey and Guadalajara), while Vancouver and Toronto will host Canada’s 13 games.
78 of the 104 fixtures will be played in the United States, including every match from the quarter-finals onwards. The two semi-finals will take place at AT&T Stadium in Dallas and Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with the final set to be played at MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey on Sunday 19 July, which caught some by surprise.
The home of NFL teams the New York Giants and the New York Jets is based in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, about five miles west of New York City itself.
How to get to MetLife Stadium
At present, NJ Transit operates a rail service directly to the front door of the stadium from Secaucus Junction, which can in turn be reached by New York Penn Station. Coach USA also offers a bus service from the Port Authority to the MetLife Sports Complex for NFL games and other large events at MetLife Stadium. With over two years to go until the World Cup begins, it remains to be seen which public transport options will be available to match-going fans.
According to the MetLife Stadium’s official website, its current capacity for soccer and American football games is 82,500, although the official US/Mexico/Canada bid for the tournament stated that figure will rise to 87,157, making it the second biggest venue in use after Estadio Azteca (87,523).
Stones, Swift and soccer
Opened in 2010, the stadium has hosted college football, WrestleManias 29 and 35, outdoor ice hockey, a whole host of concerts (including Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones and Beyoncé), Super Bowl XLVIII (won by the Seattle Seahawks) and a number of soccer games.
MetLife Stadium was the venue the final of the Copa América Centenario in 2016, as well several pre-season International Champions Cup games and many friendly matches, including 4-3 win for Argentina over Brazil in June 2012, in which Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick.
The highest attendance for a soccer match is 82,262, when Premier League rivals Manchester United and Arsenal played on their pre-season tour of the United States last summer. That record will - unless something bizarre happens - be broken on 19 July 2026, when the biggest game in soccer comes to town.