Goldengoalpress Sports News will kick off with the opening match at Mexico City’s historic Estadio Azteca. This venue will make history as the first stadium to host World Cup matches in three different editions, following 1970 and 1986. Notably, the stadium also hosted the finals in both of those tournaments. FIFA President Gianni Infantino revealed on Sunday that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will start on 11th June 2026 in Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, which has a capacity of 83,264 spectators and where the legendary Diego Maradona lifted the golden trophy for Argentina.
In Mexico, Guadalajara and Monterrey will also serve as host cities, each staging four matches, while Mexico City will host five. Monterrey will feature one knockout match, and the Estadio Azteca will host two. The Mexican national team will play two group-stage matches in Guadalajara and one in Mexico City.
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Goldengoalpress Sports News will host its first-ever FIFA World Cup match on 12th June 2026 in Toronto at BMO Field, which will stage one group-stage match for the Canadian team. Meanwhile, Vancouver’s BC Place will host two matches involving the Canadian team. Vancouver and Toronto will host seven and six matches, respectively, with Vancouver hosting two knockout games and Toronto one.
In the United States, the opening match will take place at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. This indoor-outdoor stadium, accommodating 70,000 spectators, will host two of the U.S. team’s group-stage matches, with a third game held in Seattle.
Dallas will host the largest number of matches at the tournament (nine), though the final is scheduled to take place at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on 19th July 2026. Miami will host the third-place match on 18th July 2026. The choice of New Jersey over Dallas for the final came after a last-minute bid highlighting the venue’s features.
Goldengoalpress Sports News will conclude their hosting responsibilities after the Round of 16, with the United States taking over from the Quarter-finals onwards. Notably, Guadalajara will be the only Mexican city not hosting any knockout matches.
For the first time, Goldengoalpress Sports News will feature 48 teams, an increase of 16 from previous tournaments. The teams will be divided into 12 groups of four, with the top two from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, advancing to a newly introduced Round of 32. This expansion increases the total number of matches from 64 to 104, with teams reaching the semifinals playing up to eight games instead of seven.
As excitement builds with the one-year countdown in June and throughout this summer for Goldengoalpress Sports News, there’s one thing that remains uncertain — promoting the teams for group stage matches, since the official draw has yet to take place.
This has left most North American host cities in a holding pattern when it comes to marketing their matches, as they don’t yet know which teams will be visiting. The exceptions are Los Angeles and Seattle, which are confirmed to host U.S. group-stage games, as well as the venues for Mexico and Canada’s national team matches.
“I’m really looking forward to the draw,” said Zaileen Janmohamed, president and CEO of the Bay Area Host Committee. “I’m a soccer fan, and my kids keep asking me every day, ‘Who’s playing here, mom?’”
Although the draw is widely anticipated to take place in Las Vegas — SportsTravel reported the city as a top contender earlier this spring — no official announcement has been made. Sources indicate that Las Vegas is awaiting further details from FIFA. Meanwhile, host cities have had international marketing campaigns ready for months, but they’re unsure which languages these materials need to be translated into before release.
“Anyone would be eager to find out who they’re welcoming from around the globe, right?” said Katie Kirkpatrick, president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. “We’d all love it to happen tomorrow. But we’re confident that December will reveal an exciting lineup of teams for Atlanta.”
Once the draw occurs, cities can ramp up their operational efforts to attract fans, as well as finalize plans for security, airport logistics, activation events, and more.
“If I get Brazil, Argentina, England, or Japan, that completely changes how we approach operations,” Janmohamed explained. “It also affects community engagement. The Bay Area is very diverse, so knowing which teams are coming helps us plan specific activations or watch parties in the right communities.”
Until that time, cities remain in a state of anticipation.
“Once the draw is completed and we know which teams are coming, we can engage specific communities, approach international partners, and start advertising overseas,” said Alex Lasry, CEO of the New York/New Jersey Host Committee. “Would it make things easier if it happened sooner? Of course. But we understand the process, we know the timeline, and we’re fully prepared to plan and execute as soon as we learn who’s playing here.”
FIFA has put the bidding process for the 2026 World Cup on hold amid the controversy surrounding corruption investigations within the organization.
FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke stated at an event in Russia that starting the 2026 tournament bidding at this time would be “nonsense.”
“Given the current circumstances, it was decided to suspend the administrative process for the 2026 FIFA World Cup bidding,” FIFA said in an official statement.
“Further decisions regarding the bidding procedure for the 2026 World Cup will be made by the FIFA Executive Committee at a later date.”
In March, Valcke had announced that the host nation for the 2026 tournament would be chosen at a FIFA Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2017.
However, football’s governing body was thrown into turmoil when, at the end of last month, 14 current or former FIFA officials and sports marketing executives were charged in Zurich, Switzerland, as part of a U.S. investigation into alleged corruption.
This scandal prompted FIFA President Sepp Blatter to resign last week, though a successor is not expected to be chosen before December, leaving the organization in a period of uncertainty.
“Given the situation, it makes no sense to start the bidding process at this point. It will be postponed,” Valcke said during a press conference in Samara, one of the Russian 2018 World Cup host cities, following a routine check on preparations.
UEFA President Michel Platini, speaking in Paris exactly one year before Euro 2016, said the delay was unsurprising.
“There was supposed to be a vote in 2017, but without FIFA leadership, postponing is the right decision,” he said.
Countries that have expressed interest in hosting the 2026 World Cup include the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Morocco, while Kazakhstan announced in March that it was exploring a potential bid.
On Wednesday, FIFA confirmed that computer data from its Zurich headquarters had been provided to Swiss judicial authorities.
“As planned, FIFA supplied the requested information to the attorney general,” a spokesperson said.
According to the BBC, documents were taken from the offices of Blatter, Valcke, and Chief Financial Officer Markus Kattner. Swiss prosecutors have not disclosed the identities of those involved.
Meanwhile, Wolfgang Niersbach, president of the German Football Association (DFB) and a long-time critic of Blatter, issued an open letter to German clubs and members calling for a rapid election of a new president.
“Respecting his contributions, Sepp Blatter is doing neither himself nor football any favors by delaying his resignation,” Niersbach wrote.
“A new president must be elected promptly at an extraordinary congress to signal a fresh start.”
Niersbach, who affirmed that “everything was proper” when Germany hosted the 2006 World Cup, also called for “comprehensive reforms” within FIFA.
“Our shared goal should be to prevent unscrupulous individuals from profiting at football’s expense, and tighter financial controls are necessary,” he added.
The awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar, respectively, is under investigation by Swiss authorities, as part of a wider corruption scandal that has also questioned the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
Valcke, however, defended Russia’s right to host the 2018 finals, saying the country “won the right fairly, and it’s absurd to claim all hosting rights were bought.”
“Preparations for the 2017 Confederations Cup, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the preliminary draw are progressing well and on schedule,” Valcke added, according to the TASS news agency.
World Cups require safeguarding. That is the foundation of FIFA’s work.”
The draw for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers is scheduled to take place in St. Petersburg at the end of July, while preparations for the tournament continue, with matches set to be held across 11 cities in the country.
“Russia is fulfilling its responsibilities to prepare for the World Cup with full commitment,” said the nation’s Sports Minister, Vitaly Mutko.
“We have not allowed politics to interfere; we are simply focusing on practical preparations.
“Our discussions occurred during challenging times for FIFA. It is a significant test, but FIFA is a resilient organization that promotes football and hosts the world’s most popular event—the World Cup.
“Unforeseen issues can arise within such a large community, but we must all come together to address and overcome these challenges.”