MetLife gets ’26 WC final, USMNT kicks off in L.A.-ZoomTech News

The 2026 World Cup closing shall be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19, world soccer governing physique FIFA introduced on Sunday.

America males’s nationwide staff begins its 2026 World Cup journey in Los Angeles, taking part in its first group-stage recreation at SoFi Stadium on June 12. The Individuals will play all of their group-stage matches on the West Coast, with the following two video games in Seattle and again in Los Angeles.

– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, extra (U.S.)

“It may be a particular World Cup,” Berhalter mentioned after the announcement was made. “To have the ultimate in New York, New Jersey is a dream come true for me. Being from that space, and I am positive for most individuals from that space, it is an space with a wealthy custom of soccer and producing gamers.

“To consider once I was little, going to look at the [New York] Cosmos and them promoting out Giants Stadium, and now this stadium goes to host a World Cup closing. It is actually particular.”

The opening match of the match — hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada — shall be held in Mexico Metropolis, with Mexico taking part in a yet-to-be decided opponent in its group and the rest of its matches on dwelling soil. This may mark the third time Mexico has hosted World Cup matches, after serving because the host nation in 1970 and 1986.

Canada will host its first-ever males’s World Cup match on June 12 when it begins group play in Toronto, adopted by a pair of video games in Vancouver.

The semifinals shall be performed on July 14 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the next day at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Quarterfinals shall be at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on July 9, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the next day, and at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas Metropolis, Missouri, and Exhausting Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 11. The third-place recreation shall be at Exhausting Rock on July 18.

The U.S. staff will practice in suburban Atlanta forward of the match.

When requested about his staff beginning in Los Angeles and taking part in its group video games on the West Coast, Berhalter had a one-word reply: “Wow.”

The U.S. coach then added: “When you consider L.A., an iconic soccer metropolis that is already hosted three World Cup finals with the lads’s in 1994 and the ladies’s in 1999 and once more in 2003. Then you consider the wealthy custom of southern California producing tons of gamers for our program.

“Then you consider the LA Galaxy, LAFC, SoFi Stadium, you’ve got obtained lots occurring with L.A. and positively a tremendous venue, so we’re enthusiastic about that. With Seattle, you could have a wealthy fan tradition and an unimaginable ambiance within the stadium. I get goosebumps fascinated about it already.

“It is not solely concerning the cities internet hosting the World Cup, it is about all of the communities throughout America actually getting behind us and creating this wave of help that actually pushes the staff to attempt to go and attain new heights.”

FIFA’s intention in laying out the schedule was doing what it might to maximise participant welfare and the fan expertise. The match shall be held in three international locations and throughout 4 time zones, offering appreciable challenges in ensuring gamers are at their finest and followers can comply with their chosen groups.

For these causes, FIFA consulted a number of stakeholders to verify it deliberate for as many situations as potential.

These stakeholders inside FIFA included specialists in competitors administration, staff providers, ticketing and hospitality in addition to medical. Stakeholders exterior of FIFA included broadcasters, sponsors, nationwide staff coaches and technical administrators together with their respective medical staffs. The technical staffs of the three host international locations additionally had appreciable enter into their group-stage venues.

FIFA took be aware of the 2016 Copa America Centenario, which was additionally held in the US. In that match, coast-to-coast flights between video games weren’t uncommon, with 9 of the 16 groups enduring a minimum of one such journey. Paraguay endured two such journeys within the group stage alone. These prolonged journeys ate into participant restoration time and preparation and likewise made it harder for followers to comply with their groups.

Given the journey distances and the various climates, FIFA divided the venues into three areas: east, central and west, with groups working out of a base camp in the identical area as their video games. This may give FIFA flexibility when it comes to precise kickoff occasions to raised cater to each native and worldwide audiences.

As well as, FIFA has ensured that groups can have three full days of relaxation between matches. Out of 104 complete matches, the one exception to this guideline would be the third-place recreation on the finish of the match.

FIFA didn’t announce kickoff occasions. The 1994 championship began at 12:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. in Central Europe), however the begin has been moved up lately as Asia’s tv market turned extra important to FIFA. The 2022 closing in Qatar began at 5 p.m. native time (10 a.m. ET, 4 p.m. in Central Europe and 10 p.m. in Beijing).

Stadiums shall be assigned to teams fairly than particular person fixtures in a bid to cut back journey necessities for competing groups.

The journey calls for will not be equal throughout the 48 groups, nonetheless. They are going to be weighted in favor of groups that end on the high of their group, with second-place finishers having less-forgiving journey necessities and third-place groups having the best journey calls for.

FIFA can even be being attentive to climate circumstances. It has checked out warmth and humidity readings in every of the 16 venue cities, which is able to affect what time of day video games shall be held. Following the group-stage attract December 2025, the ultimate kickoff occasions shall be introduced.

The 2026 match will characteristic 48 groups for the primary time in historical past, after FIFA expanded the sphere from the 32 it had used since 1998. Solely 24 groups competed in 1994, when the US final hosted the lads’s World Cup.

In 1994, the US performed two of its group-stage matches on the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and the opposite on the Silverdome in Detroit. The Rose Bowl additionally hosted the ultimate that yr — with Brazil topping Italy in a penalty shootout — and once more in 1999 for the Girls’s World Cup, when the US beat China, additionally on penalties.

With three host nations from Concacaf, 45 different groups will advance to the World Cup by means of the six confederations’ numerous qualification processes.

UEFA (Europe) has 16 slots; CAF (Africa) has 9; AFC (Asia) has eight; CONMEBOL (South America) has six; Concacaf (North and Central America, plus the Caribbean) has three; and Oceania has one. Two extra international locations will earn their place by means of a six-team playoff involving the non-UEFA confederations, which is able to conclude Nov. 18, 2025.