FIFA announces American, Canadian, and Mexican cities that will host 2026 World Cup
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FIFA World Cup
On Thursday, it was announced that the men’s FIFA World Cup will be returning to the United States and Mexico, with Canada joining in for the first time, for a 48-team tournament. 16 host cities were selected and 11 of those are located in America. Five are located in the east, three in the central region, and three out west.
Additionally, two Canadian cities (Toronto and Vancouver) will be hosting World Cup games for the first time, while two Mexican cities (Mexico City and Guadalajara) will be hosting the World Cup for the third time (1970 and 1986) and Monterrey was chosen for the second time.
With 23 different venues in contention for 16 spots, some prominent cities and venues were not chosen. Washington D.C. and Baltimore’s joint bid for the World Cup were unsuccessful. The Rose Bowl, a stadium where the 1994 World Cup final was held, was also left out despite Los Angeles having two options. Cincinnati, Denver, Nashville, Orlando, and Edmonton in Canada were among the cities not chosen as 2026 World Cup venues. SoFi Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers was ultimately selected.
The 2026 World Cup will take place in eleven US cities, two Canadian cities, and three Mexican cities. The American host cities are Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium), Boston (Gillette Stadium), Dallas (AT&T Stadium), Houston (NRG Stadium), Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium), Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium), Miami (Hard Rock Stadium), New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium), Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field), San Francisco (Levi’s Stadium), and Seattle (Lumen Field). The Canadian venues are Toronto (BMO Field) and Vancouver (BC Place) while Mexico will be represented by Guadalajara (Estadio Akron), Mexico City (Estadio Azteca), and Monterrey (Estadio BBVA).
2026 FIFA World Cup format and qualification
Now that we are aware of the host cities, playing fields, and venues for the 2026 World Cup, let us discuss the tournament itself. It is expected (although not officially confirmed) that the USA, Canada, and Mexico will all be granted automatic entry into the competition as host nations.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be a groundbreaking event, with 48 teams competing in 16 groups of three and each team playing two group stage matches, rather than three in previous tournaments. This will result in the top two teams from each group proceeding to the round of 32. Additionally, it will be the first time that the tournament is held in three different host countries.
The proposal for increasing the number of teams at the 2026 World Cup would mean the elimination of one round of group-stage games. In its place, another round of win-or-go-home matches would be included in the knockout stages. This would ensure that almost all of the contests at the tournament would be full of high stakes since the final round of group matches currently can be rendered meaningless by the outcomes of the preceding events.
Also Read: “Good day,” Lionel Messi wakes up cuddling with 2022 FIFA World Cup trophy
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Ujan Chakraborty
(1240 Articles Published)