FIFA Officially Announces 2026 World Cup Schedule, Opening In Mexico And Final In New York

Metlife Stadium, New York, will be the final venue and closing of the 2026 World Cup (doc. FIFA).

JAKARTA - The World Football Federation (FIFA) officially announced the location for the opening and closing of the 2026 World Cup. Two different locations were chosen, namely Mexico and New York, as venues for the event.

At the agenda of the opening ceremony, FIFA appointed the Azteca Stadium, Mexico City. The event will be held on June 11, 2026.

With a capacity of 87,523 seats, the stadium which was built in 1961 is considered to be able to accommodate the public's euphoria in the splendor of the opening ceremony later.

Meanwhile, the closing ceremony of the 2026 World Cup which will be held in conjunction with the final will be held at the MetLife Stadium, New York City, New Jersey, on July 19, 2026.

MetLife is a stadium with a capacity of 82,500 spectators. The stadium was built from 2008 to 2010 and dominantly used as a home for NFL clubs.

"New York New Jersey Stadium has been confirmed as the location for the FIFA 26 World Cup final on Sunday, July 19, 2026," wrote FIFA on its official website quoted Monday, February 5, 2024.

Before entering the agenda of opening and closing, the 2026 World Cup is currently still in the qualifying stage involving five continents. This 26th edition qualification is different from the previous one.

The reason is, the tickets for the 2026 World Cup that are contested are 45, excluding Canada, Mexico, and the United States as hosts.

For the first time, the 2026 World Cup will involve 48 participants who make the competition even more fierce. In the previous edition, there were only 32 World Cup contestants.

The Indonesian national team that competes in the Asian zone also has the opportunity to win tickets. However, currently, Indonesia is still the caretaker of Group F for the second phase of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Shin Tae-yong's squad has only packed one point as a result of playing the 1-1 draw against the Philippines in Manila. Previously, the Garuda squad also lost 1-5 in the inaugural Group F match against Iraq in Basra.

However, Indonesia will continue its struggle against Vietnam in home and away matches which will be held on March 21 and 26, 2024, respectively.