Watch all 104 games of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.
New York’s MetLife Stadium to host FIFA World Cup 2026 Final, Mexico to host tournament opener
The FIFA World Cup 2026 Final is headed to the Big Apple with FIFA revealing New York’s MetLife Stadium as the host of the global football decider during a star-studded official tournament schedule release event in Miami on Monday.
World entertainment heavyweights Drake, Kim Kardashian and Kevin Hart joined FIFA President Gianni Infantino to unveil the venues and match schedule of the 23rd FIFA World Cup which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
In what was the biggest announcement of the night, Infantino revealed the open-air MetLife Stadium will host the final match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 beating AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas for the honour.
The 82,500-seat venue is located 18 kilometres northwest of downtown Manhattan, in the New Jersey Borough of East Rutherford, and has previously played host to Superbowl 58 in 2010 and the Copa America Centenario in 2016 as Chile stunned Lionel Messi’s Argentina to win the South American football crown 4-2 on penalties.
AT&T Stadium and Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host the semi-final matches, and Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium will host the bronze medal match
Mexico City will host the tournament opener on June 11, 2026 (Friday, June 12 AEST) with the historic Estadio Azteca, the site of Argentina’s 1986 World Cup Triumph and Brazil’s 1970 World Cup title, set to become the first stadium to host matches at three separate World Cups.
The tournament is set to be one of many firsts, with three host nations, more teams and more games than ever before.
The 2026 World Cup will feature 104 matches instead of the traditional 64 games, including an additional knockout round due to the previously announced decision to expand to 48 teams from 32.
While qualifying is underway, the three host nations are guaranteed entry.
Canada will host their first ever Men’s FIFA World Cup match when the Canadian National team kicks off their campaign in Toronto at BMO Field on June 12 (June 13 AEST), while the USA will start their campaign in Los Angeles, the site of the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final, at the newly built SOFI Stadium also on June 12.
Other US World Cup match sites are Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; NRG Stadium in Houston; Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri; Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
With the additional teams, the length of the tournament will grow from 29 days in the shortened 2022 schedule in Qatar and 32 days for the 2018 tournament in Russia.
Only one match will involve a team that has not had at least three off days. FIFA divided the group stage into East, Central and West regions and intended to make travel shorter for group winners.
All 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in the USA, Canada and Mexico will be broadcast live, free and exclusive on SBS Australia across SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand .
