The decision for the next World Cup will be in New York, and Azteca will host the opening game; competition will have 48 teams
FIFA announced this Sunday, 4th, the opening and final dates of the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted three times in the U.S, Canada It is Mexico and will be played between June 11th and July 19th.
The opening will be at the Azteca Stadium, in Mexico City, on June 11th, while the final is scheduled for July 19th, 2026, at the Metlife Stadium, in New York, USA. With 39 days and 104 games, the World Cup will be the longest in history.
Now with 48 teams in dispute, the entity also presented the new game calendar; the previous one had 32 teams in the dispute. Countries will be divided into 12 groups in the initial phase.
The top two in each group advance to the second phase, in addition to the eight best third-placed teams. The knockout stage will feature 32 teams, who will compete for places in the round of 16 of the World Cup.
The 2026 World Cup will be the first in a three-host format. In total, 16 cities will host the matches.
🇲🇽🇺🇸🇨🇦 Three host countries. Three opening games.#Somos26 | #FIFA World cup
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@fifaworldcup_pt) February 4, 2024
Canada:
BMO Field – Toronto (Canadian team debut, June 12, 2026)
BC Place – Vancouver
U.S:
Mercedes-Benz – Atlanta
Gillette – Boston
AT&T – Dallas
Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia
NRG – Houston
GEHA Field at Arrowhead – Kansas City
SoFi – Los Angeles (USA team debut, June 12, 2026)
Hard Rock – Miami (dispute for third place)
MetLife – New Jersey (World Cup final stadium, July 19, 2026)
Levi’s – San Francisco
Lumen Field – Seattle
Mexico:
Azteca Stadium – Mexico City (Mexico national team debut, June 11, 2026)
Akron Stadium – Guadalajara
BBVA Stadium – Monterrey
Logistics
To face the challenge of three venues, the entity separated the games into West Coast, Central and East Coast areas, so that each team competes in the first phase within one of these regions. Thus, displacements are optimized.
The hosts will play the first round entirely in their own countries. Thus, Mexico is the confirmed selection for the opening game.
Source: sportbuzz
I am William Jackson and I have a passion for sports journalism. With over 3 years of experience in the industry, I have worked in a variety of roles to improve the quality and accuracy of sports news coverage. As an author at Athletistic, I specialize in covering football news and providing comprehensive analysis for fans around the world.
