Who will be the host countries for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted jointly by three countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This marks the first time in the tournament's history that three nations will co-host the World Cup, and it will also be the largest World Cup ever held in terms of the number of teams participating, with the field expanded from 32 to 48 teams. The tournament is scheduled to run from June to July 2026. The United States will serve as the primary host, with the most matches being played on American soil. Eleven American cities have been selected as host cities, including New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco Bay Area, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Boston, Kansas City, Philadelphia, and Houston. The final match is scheduled to be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, which sits just outside New York City and is one of the largest stadiums in the country. The United States previously hosted the World Cup in 1994, which remains one of the most attended World Cups in history. Canada will host matches in two cities, Toronto and Vancouver. This will be Canada's first time hosting the FIFA World Cup, making it a historic occasion for Canadian soccer. The country has seen a significant rise in soccer's popularity in recent years, and hosting the tournament is expected to further boost the sport's profile there. BMO Field in Toronto and BC Place in Vancouver are the designated stadiums for Canadian matches. Mexico will host matches in three cities: Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. Mexico is particularly notable in World Cup history because this will make it the first country to host the World Cup three times, having previously hosted in 1970 and 1986. The iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, which has hosted two previous World Cup finals, will be one of the venues used, giving it the unique distinction of hosting matches in three separate World Cup tournaments. Mexican soccer culture is deeply passionate, and the country's involvement adds a rich historical dimension to the tournament. The decision to award the 2026 World Cup to this joint bid, known at the time of the bid as the United Bid, was made by FIFA in June 2018 during the FIFA Congress in Moscow. The bid defeated a competing bid from Morocco. The expanded 48-team format means there will be 104 matches played across all three countries, significantly more than the 64 matches played in previous 32-team tournaments. Organizers expect the 2026 World Cup to be one of the most commercially successful and widely watched sporting events in history, given the massive combined market of the three host nations and the popularity of soccer globally.