The winners of the 2026 World Cup men’s soccer tournament will hoist the vaunted gold trophy at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, FIFA announced Sunday.
Gov. Phil Murphy was among the first to spread the stunning announcement from the worldwide soccer body that the East Rutherford venue will host the tournament’s final game.
“As a lifelong soccer fan, I am thrilled to announce that the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final will be hosted by New Jersey and New York City! See you in 2026!,” Murphy posted on X, formerly Twitter. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our entire region; hosting the Final provides NYNJ an unparalleled platform to brilliantly showcase what we stand for — diversity, equality, access, and inclusion,” the governor said in a later, more detailed statement.
News reports and speculation in the sport in recent weeks had the final match going to AT&T Stadium in Texas, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
This past fall, Murphy said MetLife Stadium had a 50/50 shot at hosting the final — scheduled for July 19, 2026. In all, MetLife will host eight games in the tournament, Murphy and FIFA said.
FIFA previously announced the 2026 tournament would have some firsts: Canada, Mexico and the United States would host, the first time three nations would do so, and 48 teams would qualify, up from 32 teams. The tournament starts June 11, 2026. FIFA awarded Mexico City the tournament opener.
Other cities hosting games include: Toronto and Vancouver in Canada, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico, and Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco (Bay Area) and Seattle.
FIFA lists the host city as New York/New Jersey, although all the games are at MetLife — similar to how the Super Bowl was branded when the stadium hosted that event a decade ago. MetLife’s precursor, Giants Stadium, hosted 1994 World Cup matches, but not the final. During the event, MetLife will formally be called “New York New Jersey Stadium” because FIFA does not allow corporate names that aren’t sponsors.