The wait of soccer fans to find out where the first ball of the 2026 World Cup will be kicked came to an end this Sunday: the Azteca stadium in Mexico City will be the venue where the opening match of the tournament will be played on June 11 .
At least 11 cities in the United States—Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle—were competing alongside three Mexican cities—Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. and the Canadians Toronto and Vancouver.
[The 2030 World Cup will be played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. But it will start with three games in Latin America]
The 2026 World Cup will be the first tournament in which 48 teams participate, divided into 16 groups of three teams each.
A total of 104 games will be played.
The 2022 Soccer World Cup ended with Argentina as the winner of the tournament.
Alex Caparros - FIFA/Getty Images
SoFi stadiums in Los Angeles and MetLife stadiums in New Jersey were expected to be among the favorite contenders for capacity.
Last September, the mayor of Miami assured that "we will offer a world-class experience to the millions of visitors and local fans who will participate in this global event."