- The first game of the 2026 World Cup will take place at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City
- Pelé and Diego Maradona both won the World Cup in the legendary football stadium
- provides the latest international sports news
FIFA has announced that the opening match of the 2026 World Cup will take place on June 11 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Further details about the tournament, which is scheduled to take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, were announced on Sunday.
Mexico had the privilege of hosting the start of the tournament with its legendary national stadium as the backdrop.
Football legends Pelé and Diego Maradona both won the World Cup at Azteca.
Mexico has previously hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986, with Maradona scoring his infamous “Hand of God” goal against England in the latter tournament.
FIFA has announced that the opening match of the 2026 World Cup will take place at the Estadio Azteca
Pelé and Diego Maradona (pictured in 1986) both won the World Cup at the Estadio Azteca
In a major twist, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey was given the honor of hosting the all-important World Cup final.
AT&T Stadium in Dallas was reportedly scheduled to host the football exhibition, but MetLife was named as the site for Sunday's finale.
New York/New Jersey will also play one game in the round of 32 and one in the round of 16.
MetLife Stadium – home to New York's two NFL teams, the Jets and Giants – is actually located in Jersey, but has the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop.
MetLife's regular capacity of 82,500 is slightly larger than AT&T's, but offers no scope for further expansion.
Meanwhile, the USMNT will play its opener on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, before traveling to Lumen Field in Seattle and finishing the group stage at SoFi.
The third-place game will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
FIFA also announced that Canada's opening game of the tournament will be played in Toronto.
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey – just outside New York City – was chosen as the venue for the 2026 World Cup final
Philadelphia and Mexico City will also host a Round of 16 game each, while Boston, Toronto, Miami, Kansas City, Monterrey and San Francisco will host Round of 32 games in their respective stadiums.
Dallas and LA are the only two cities to host two Round of 32 games.
Kim Kardashian and her son Saint announced the venue for the first USMNT World Cup game in 2026, while also admitting that she will be “the most embarrassing soccer mom in the world” during the tournament.
The 43-year-old American socialite and her eight-year-old boy made a surprise guest appearance on Fox Sports' 2026 FIFA World Cup schedule broadcast on Sunday to reveal where the Star and Stripes will play their three group games in two years.