New Jersey will host the 2026 World Cup final, and Mexico will host the opening match.
In addition to the USA and Mexico, Canada will host 13 games in total.
(Reuters)- The 2026 World Cup final will be held in New Jersey, home of the New York Giants and the New York Jets of the National Football League, FIFA announced on Sunday, along with the competition schedule.
The 48-team World Cup, which will conclude on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Canada will host 13 games in total, including 10 in the group stage, split equally between Toronto and Vancouver. Mexico will also host 13 matches, including 10 during the group stage in Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. The remainder of the tournament will be held in 11 cities across the United States.
Toronto, Mexico City, and Los Angeles will host the opening games for their respective national teams.
The open-air stadium for the final, which opened in 2010 and has a capacity of 82.500 people, hosted the final of the Copa América Centenario in 2016, when Chile defeated Argentina in a penalty shootout.
FIFA has not announced the start times for the matches.
The Azteca Stadium in Mexico City will host the tournament's opening match on June 11, when Mexico will become the first country to host the World Cup for the third time. The opening day will also feature a match in Guadalajara.
Mexico hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986, with the finals of both editions held at the Azteca Stadium, where Pelé's Brazil thrashed Italy 4-1 and Diego Maradona's Argentina beat West Germany 3-2.
The first match in Canada, which has never hosted a World Cup game, will be on June 12 in Toronto, while the opening game in the United States will be in Los Angeles, home of the NFL's Rams.