World Cup 2026: MetLife Stadium, New Jersey could host World Cup Final

It's official! The FIFA World Cup 2026 is coming to the United States, Canada and Mexico and the final match is expected to be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

As part of the "United" bid, 60 games will be played in the United States, including every game from the quarterfinals through the World Cup Final, for which the bidders have proposed MetLife Stadium as the location. During the group stage, 20 games will be played in Canada and Mexico.

The World Cup announcement came Wednesday morning, one day before the start of World Cup 2018. Leaders from 134 countries' soccer associations voted for the United bid. The only other competitor, Morocco, finished with 65 votes.

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"Thank you for entrusting us with the privilege of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2026," U.S. Soccer Federation President Carlos Cordeiro said from the stage in Moscow. "At the end of the day, we are all united in football. That's the spirit of the World Cup. The beautiful game transcends orders and cultures. Football today is the only victor."

The United bid proposed 23 potential host stadiums and cities, 17 of which are in the United States and five — MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Gillette Stadium in Massacusetts, M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and FedEx Field in Washington, D.C. — are within a few hours' drive for New Jerseyans.

The complete list of potential World Cup 2026 cities and stadiums is:

Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)

Baltimore (M&T Bank Stadium)

Cincinnati (Paul Brown Stadium)

Foxborough, Mass. (Gillette Stadium)

Dallas (AT&T Stadium)

Denver (Mile High Stadium)

Edmonton (Commonwealth Stadium)

Guadalajara (Estadio Akron)

Houston (NRG Stadium)

Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium)

Los Angeles (Rose Bowl)

Mexico City (Azteca Stadium)

Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)

Monterrey (BBVA Bancomer Stadium)

Montreal (Olympic Stadium)

Nashville (Nissan Stadium)

New Jersey (MetLife Stadium)

Orlando (Camping World Stadium)

Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field)

San Francisco (Levi's Stadium)

Seattle (CenturyLink Field)

Toronto (BMO Field)

Washington, D.C. (FedEx Field)

Only 16 cities will be selected to host World Cup 2026 games. FIFA has strict seating capacity requirements, requiring all locations to have seats for at least 40,000 spectators in the group stage or knockout round, 60,000 seats for the semi-finals and 80,000 seats for the World Cup Final.

The decision about the winning cities and the games they'll host won't come until 2020 or 2021, MetLife Stadium President and CEO Ron VanDeVeen said in a statement.

"MetLife Stadium was included in the bid book as a recommended site for the Final and we look forward to working with FIFA to finalize plans in the coming years," he said.

FIFA's summary of the United bid offers some insight into the plans:

The final would be located at either MetLife Stadium, AT&T Stadium in Dallas or the Rose Bowl, though the United bid prefers MetLife Stadium.

Three matches could occur on the first day of the World Cup, featuring the three host nations playing in their own countries. Potential locations include MetLife Stadium, AT&T Stadium, the Rose Bowl and Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

The bidders have proposed the semifinals to be played in Dallas and Atlanta, though Boston and Washington are also possibilities.

Quarter-final matches or the third-place game could be held in Baltimore, Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco or Seattle.

The games in Canada and Mexico will end in the round of 16, with games potentially in Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, Guadalajara and Monterrey.

In a statement, Gov. Phil Murphy said he was looking forward to the next step of the process, in which specific stadiums will be chosen.

“MetLife Stadium and the Meadowlands region are an ideal site for the World Cup. New Jersey has hosted World Cup matches before and we are more than ready to do so again," said Murphy, who became a noted soccer fan during his time as U.S. Ambassador to Germany. "MetLife Stadium is an internationally-renowned facility with first-class amenities. The Meadowlands region includes hundreds of hotels to house fans from all over the world and first-rate entertainment, shopping and dining, all just across the river from New York City."

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In the 1994 World Cup, the former Giants Stadium was home to group stage and knockout round matches featuring Italy, Ireland, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Mexico and Germany. Its most prominent game was a semi-final match-up of Bulgaria versus Italy, which won 2 to 1 before eventually losing on penalty kicks to Brazil in the World Cup Final.

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The U.S. Men's National team lost to Brazil in the group stage and played its games at the Rose Bowl, Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan and Stanford Stadium.

In addition to the 1994 World Cup, the United States played host to the Women's World Cup in 1999 (which was won by the United States) and 2003. In 1999, Giants Stadium held group stage matches featuring the United States, Denmark, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Russia, China and Australia.

The United States previously lost its bid to host the 2022 World Cup, which will be held in Qatar.

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Representatives from U.S. Soccer, the Canadian Soccer Association and the Mexican Football Federation argued that their bid wouldn't require the construction of new stadiums, as the relatively massive American football stadiums are large enough to handle the large crowds.

A number of nations were vocal in their opposition to the United bid, including criticism of President Donald Trump, who has called for travel bans on countries with a majority Muslim population, many of whom are World Cup regulars. But according to the New York Times, Trump earlier this year wrote three letters to FIFA that indicated any U.S. policies on travel into the country won't affect the 2026 World Cup.

The 2026 World Cup is the first year in which FIFA will expand the competition from 32 teams to 48 teams. Per FIFA rules, host nations automatically qualify for the group stage, which is a needed perk for the United States: The U.S. Men's National Team didn't even qualify for the World Cup this year.

The U.S. Women's National team has won the Women's World Cup a record three times.

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Mike Davis; @byMikeDavis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com