The 2026 World Cup final, the culminating game of international soccer, is set to take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. FIFA announced the location on February 4th, along with the venues for the other matches. For the first time, the 104 games will take place in three countries: The U.S., Canada and Mexico. Gus Ornstein, Director of Athletics at Fieldston, says, “I think it is very cool that the finals will be held at MetLife, allowing so many soccer fans from this area the opportunity to potentially witness the biggest soccer game in the world!”
The Estadio Azteca stadium in Mexico City will host the opening match on June 11th, while the next day’s matches will be held in Toronto Stadium in Canada and Los Angeles Stadium in the U.S. Throughout the tournament, matches will take place in 16 host cities with the quarter-finals, semifinals, the third-place game and the final match being played in the U.S.
Other stadiums considered as finals hosts include AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. AT&T Stadium, seating up to 100,000 people, was denied because of the lack of public transport, meaning fans would have to drive or take a cab. SoFi Stadium was not chosen because its owner, San Kroenke, got into a revenue fight with FIFA. Both AT&T Stadium and SoFi Stadium will still host matches throughout the World Cup.
In addition to the novelty of three host nations, the 2026 World Cup has other firsts. Canada’s games in Toronto and Vancouver will be the first World Cup games the nation has ever hosted. Unlike previous years, the tournament will comprise 48 teams instead of the typical 32, adding more matches to the schedule and a new stage to the tournament: “Round of 32”.
The U.S. men’s national team plays its first game on June 12th, in the suburbs of Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium. All of their group-stage matches take place on the West Coast. They have an opportunity to play at MetLife during the Round of 32 and Round of 16 depending on the group draws. Throughout the tournament, FIFA will refer to the stadium as the “New York, New Jersey Stadium” because of its policy against non-sponsor corporate names.
For many Fieldston students, the decision to host the finals at MetLife is a blessing. The stadium’s proximity to Fieldston allows students to attend the match easily; instead of traveling to another country across the globe, New York City fans can simply take the bus or train to watch the games. “At least it’ll be in the correct time zone,” a Form III student said.
For others, the stadium brings up concerns. Some students questioned the athletes’ safety. A common injury at MetLife is tearing the Achilles muscle. Star NY Jets’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers received this very injury on the fourth play of the season. Lily Saal (Form V) says, “It’s horrible for any player to have an injury. Full stop. But when it’s your star player and team captain…it’s overwhelmingly frustrating.” MetLife is a turf stadium with a reputation for injuries, it is understandable that fans are concerned for the players.
To address worries about injuries, the turf field will be replaced with grass, which has more traction. Other concerns were accessibility and transportation: the area usually has a lot of traffic and fans are worried about arriving at the stadium on time. We all know how long a rush hour commute anywhere near New York City takes.
Regardless of concerns, it’s exciting to know the 2026 World Cup is headed right to our backyard.
