2026 FIFA World Cup final

• 1. Introduction

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  The 2026 FIFA World Cup final will be played on the 19th of July, 2026, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The stadium sits ten miles west of New York City. During the tournament, FIFA will call it "New York New Jersey Stadium." The organization's sponsorship rules require commercial names on the venue's signage to be covered or removed. The final is the 23rd edition of FIFA's men's national team competition. When FIFA announced the venue on the 4th of February, 2024, officials in Dallas had organized a small viewing party for the announcement. They expected a different city to be named. FIFA had set the date of the final on the 16th of March, 2023. That was more than a year before the question of which stadium would hold it was resolved.

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• 2. The Bid for the Final

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  The 68th FIFA Congress met on the 13th of June, 2018, and awarded the 2026 World Cup to the United 2026 bid. That joint proposal came from the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The bid planned for 16 host cities spread across all three nations. All matches from the quarterfinals onward were set to be played in the United States. MetLife Stadium was identified early as a frontrunner for the final, recognized for its scale and its record hosting major events.

  SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, near Los Angeles, was the main rival. It was one of ten U.S. stadiums confirmed for the tournament in June 2022. Built for American football, SoFi has a field only 69 yards wide, shorter than FIFA's recommended dimensions. Media reports described the stadium's owner, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, as dissatisfied with FIFA's proposed revenue-sharing arrangement. According to those reports, the company threatened to withdraw from hosting any World Cup matches.

  In early 2023, AT&T Stadium in the Dallas area emerged as a third candidate. Its seating capacity of 90,000 exceeded that of both rivals. Dallas also proposed simulcasting the final at two additional nearby venues to increase ticket revenue. AT&T Stadium had scheduled renovations to accommodate a wider playing field. In January 2024, MetLife Stadium announced a comparable plan: it would remove 1,740 seats from the corner sections to widen its own field. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, was not included in the 2026 tournament. It had hosted the men's final in 1994 and the women's final in 1999, but was excluded due to its age.

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• 3. The Host Stadium

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  MetLife Stadium opened in 2009. It has since served as the primary home of two National Football League teams: the New York Giants and the New York Jets. Its listed seating capacity is 82,500. Before 2026, the venue had already hosted Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014 and the Copa América Centenario final in 2016. The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final was also held there.

  The stadium is also scheduled to host seven other World Cup matches during the tournament in addition to the final. The 2026 final will be the first FIFA World Cup final MetLife Stadium has ever staged.

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• 4. The Journey In

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  NJ Transit operates the trains and buses that will carry fans to the stadium during the tournament. The primary rail option is the Meadowlands Rail Line, a shuttle service with no regular scheduled passengers. A new $35 million busway was also built specifically for the event. Both routes bring fans to the stadium from Secaucus Junction, the nearest major transit hub.

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• 5. The First Halftime Show

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  On the 28th of September, 2024, FIFA announced that Global Citizen would co-produce the halftime show for the World Cup final. No World Cup had ever staged one. The announcement explicitly compared it to halftime performances at the NFL's Super Bowl.

  On the 5th of March, 2025, FIFA confirmed that Coldplay would help shape the final performer list. The headline acts were announced on the 13th of May, 2026: Madonna, Shakira, and BTS. The show is planned to run between 11 and 15 minutes. It also sets a fundraising target of 100 million dollars for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund. Coldplay will also organize a concert in Times Square during the weekend of the final. That performance reaches an audience far beyond MetLife Stadium, in one of the world's most recognized public spaces.

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