By Miguel Rapetti
04 Feb 2024, 19:02 PM EST
New York City officially became the venue for the final of the United States, Canada and Mexico 2026 World Cup to be held on July 19 of that year, with MetLife Stadium being chosen, which regularly serves as the home of New York. York Giants and New York Jets in the NFL.
Through an event held this Sunday, FIFA made official the calendar of the event that the three countries will host, highlighting that the first 48-team World Cup in history will officially close in New York.
MetLife Stadium was ultimately able to beat out the candidates from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Dallas, as well as SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Los Angeles.
In fact, the only precedent in the United States for a World Cup occurred in 1994 and on that occasion the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Los Angeles, hosted the decisive match in which the Brazilian National Team won the fourth title in its history by winning on penalties to his counterpart from Italy.
The previous precedent of New York hosting World Cup matches had been at the defunct Giants Stadium, which was demolished in 2010 and 16 years earlier had hosted 10 matches of the 1994 World Cup, of which four were in the first phase, four in the next round, one for the quarterfinals and another for the semifinals.
Along with the final, MetLife Stadium will also host five group stage matches, one for the round of 16 and another for the round of 8, for a total of eight matches.
New York celebrates in style hosting the 2026 World Cup final
The announcement of New York as the home of the World Cup final was not only celebrated by the city’s more than eight million inhabitants, but also by the city’s main politicians such as the mayor of the Big Apple, Eric Adams, as well as New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
Through his X account (formerly Twitter), Adams highlighted the importance of hosting the most important match of the 2026 World Cup and assured that they are ready to meet all expectations.
“Another victory for the city of New York and New Jersey: The World Cup comes to the biggest stage in the World! “The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final is coming to town and we are ready to hit the field,” the official said.
Murphy later stressed that he has always been a big soccer fan and that he hopes to enjoy the match.
Along with their messages on the social network, they also published the same video in which both the diversity and the benefits of New York hosting the World Cup final are highlighted.
Along with the announcement of the final in New York, FIFA also indicated that the Azteca stadium in Mexico will begin the competition, which will begin with an impressive inauguration on June 11, 2026.
The 2006 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the first to bring together 48 teams instead of the 32 that have played since France 98 and a record number of 104 matches will be held in total.
Keep reading:
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- FIFA communicated the stadium requirements for the 2030 World Cup to the hosts