The final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, bringing together for the first time 48 teams and co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, arrived in New York on July 19 and was announced by FIFA in July. The opening ceremony and match will take place in Mexico City’s historic Azteca stadium on June 11, and will feature the honor of the national team.
“The fan experience is extremely impressive,” famous FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, an author, in a jacket with beige cap and white baskets, said in publicity for a televised ceremony in Miami. Italo-Switzerland is hoping for “6 million supporters” and “6 billion viewers” for a tournament more impressive than ever.
The format of the competition is a group of 48 teams, compared to 32 teams in 1998, for a total of 104 matches between 16 stadiums in 2022: Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Boston, Philadelphia . , Miami and New York in the United States, in Mexico, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico, Toronto and Vancouver in Canada.
Final in front of 82,500 spectators
MetLife Stadium and its 82,500 seats, home of the New York Jets and Giants American (Site notre bureau spécialisé) team, are located specifically in East Rutherford, New Jersey (east of Manhattan), and are favored in Dallas and Los Angeles, as well as cities in a hurry to host the final. That of 1994 took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in the suburbs of LA where Brazil won its 4th star at the expense of Italy, on penalties.
The Azteca, the heart of the passion for Mexican (Site notre bureau spécialisé), was the first stadium in history and saw the honors of the competition for the third time, between 1970 and 1986, editions which corresponded, in the same period, to the coronations of the Brazil of Pelé and Argentina of Maradona.
The semi-finals of the World Cup will take place in Dallas and Atlanta, FIFA revealed during its ceremony in the presence of guests from all walks of life: humor and comedy Kevin Hart, the Canadian rapper Drake, star Kim Kardashian, and former Brazilian world champion Cafu.
The Copa America warming up
In the meantime, Messi is already expected at the Copa America, played this year in the United States from June 20 to July 16, a sort of “pre-World Cup” for the host country two years before the big event.
The 48 teams competing in 2026 will compete in two different groups. The first two in each group as well as the eight best three will advance to the round of 16, extending the knockout phase by one stage, which until now started at the round of 16.
This next World Cup must be one of all commercial records for FIFA, while the windfall from the men’s tournament represents the bulk of the income which it then redistributes to its 211 member federations.
