MetLife Stadium to host 2026 FIFA World Cup final

The center of the soccer world will be MetLife Stadium in the summer of 2026. The home of the Jets and the Giants was announced Sunday as the host venue for the 2026 FIFA World Cup final on July 19, 2026.

The #FIFAWorldCup 26 final is headed to New York New Jersey!#WeAre26

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 4, 2024

In addition, MetLife will host five games during the Group Stage and also be a host in the Round of 32 and Round of 16 in the new, expanded Knockout Stage. The 2026 World Cup will be the first to feature 48 teams. The United States, Mexico and Canada all automatically qualify as co-hosts.

The 2026 World Cup begins June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico. The United States will play their three group matches at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Lumen Field in Seattle.

MetLife Stadium will put down natural grass and undergo renovations in preparation for hosting the World Cup. FIFA requires all stadiums to have natural grass. Whether the grass will stay remains to be seen, but new artificial turf was installed in 2023 and soccer has been played on temporary grass at MetLife previously.

FIFA requires that all stadiums must have natural grass.

MetLife will put down natural grass for the World Cup and the stadium will undergo some renovations prior to the 2026. https://t.co/7UX4WdgxqY

— uSTADIUM (@uSTADIUM) February 4, 2024