The fever for the
2026 World Cup
, the largest in history due to the participation of
48 teams
and the joint organization between
three countries
(United States, Mexico and Canada), has grown significantly in the last few hours, based on the various announcements by the FIFA regarding the venues for the different matches of the biggest football event.
Among all this, president
Gianni Infantino confirmed the location of the final, where hopefully the
Argentine National Team
and
Lionel Messi
can be
defending the title obtained in Qatar 2022. It is the
imposing MetLife stadium in New Jersey
, which will host the 104th match on July 19, 2026.
The choice is not a coincidence, because it is one of the ones with the greatest capacity in the world, it has an unbeatable location in the suburb of Meadowlands, in the city of East Rutherford in New Jersey, near cosmopolitan New York, and it has already been famous for being the home of the two NFL American football teams: the New York Giants and New York Jets.
The Argentine National Team, for example, has two dissimilar antecedents in that place
: it hosted the friendly that beat Brazil 4-3 in 2012 with an unforgettable triplet by Lionel Messi, but also the final of the 2016 Copa América Centenario in which it lost. against Chile on penalties, adding frustration to that drought that ended in 2021 at a higher level.
Its construction dates back to 2010 and cost
1.6 billion dollars
.
It currently has capacity for
82,566 spectators
, has
218 luxury boxes
and artificial grass.
In addition, it is covered in aluminum with lights inside and on game days it changes color depending on the occasion: it turns blue when the Giants play and green when the Jets play.
Beyond the final, MetLife Stadium will also be in charge of organizing five other matches in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, in addition to a round of 32 match and a round of 16 match.
Likewise, it will host the 2024 Copa América with two group stage matches (Chile-Argentina, Uruguay-Bolivia) and one of the two semifinals.
One of MetLife Stadium's highlights was Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014 in which the Seattle Sounders swept the Denver Broncos 43-8.
Outside of sports, the venue included shows by huge figures in the music industry such as Taylor Swift, who performed there three times in 2023 as part of her successful The Eras Tour.
The hit British rock band the Rolling Stones are scheduled to perform there twice in May.
Gianni Infantino's blunt reflection on the 2026 World Cup
The president of FIFA,
Gianni Infantino
, assured that the 2026 World Cup final, jointly organized by the United States, Mexico and Canada and which will be held in New York/New Jersey, will be "epic" and "will unite the world" due to the presence from 48 countries and for having as its headquarters two cities in which more than 200 nationalities congregate.
Infantino declared, after FIFA revealed the tournament's match schedule on Sunday, that he is sure that "New York and New Jersey are celebrating now" because they have won "the most important match in the history of football."
Similarly, referring to Mexico, he recalled that the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, which will host the opening match on June 11, already hosted the final stages of the FIFA World Cup in 1970 and 1986, witnessing some of the most memorable matches in the history of football with Pelé and Diego Armando Maradona as protagonists, respectively.
In addition, he spoke about Canada's experience in organizing FIFA events, such as the 2015 Women's World Cup, and highlighted that the two host cities, Vancouver and Toronto, are soccer cities.
"I am very proud and happy that Canada is part of this incredible World Cup."