The venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have been decided, and given that the tournament is taking place across the continent and set to host a massive 48 teams, the governing body has sectioned out its picks into three regions.
There’ll be five host cities in the West, which features one in Canada and one in Mexico, six Central hosts that includes two Mexican cities, and then five more in the East region, which adds another Canadian venue.
From 41 potential hosts, there are now 16, with two in Canada, three in Mexico, and 11 in the US. So, here’s a look at them all, as well as which stadiums are the biggest, smallest and where the World Cup Final might be played.
Full List of All 2026 FIFA World Cup Stadiums and Cities
Here’s the full list of all 16 host cities and stadiums set to feature at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America:
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Estadio Azteca, Mexico City (87,523)
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MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford (82,500)
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AT&T Stadium, Arlington (80,000)
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Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City (76,416)
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NRG Stadium, Houston (72,220)
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Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta (71,000)
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SoFi Stadium, Inglewood (70,240)
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Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia (69,796)
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Lumen Field, Seattle (69,000)
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Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara (68,500)
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Gillette Stadium, Foxborough (65,878)
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Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens (64,767)
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BC Place, Vancouver (54,500)
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Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe (53,500)
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Estadio Akron, Zapopan (49,850)
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BMO Field, Toronto (30,991)
What’s the Largest 2026 FIFA World Cup Stadium?
The largest 2026 FIFA World Cup stadium is the Estadio Azteca of Tlalpan, Mexico City. Opened in 1966, the stadium has held over 119,000 people for a soccer game, and over 132,000 for a Julio César Chávez bout in 1993.
Nowadays, it’s registered as having a capacity of 87,523, which isn’t a count regularly being met by local fans of Liga MX. Second in the league after 15 games, residents Club América still remain popular when live betting online.
Even though the Estadio Azteca is the largest 2026 World Cup stadium and is arguably in the capital of the most soccer-loving nation of the three hosts, it doesn’t look set to host the World Cup Final.
🏟️¡ENTRADÓN!👊🏻, 🤗La Mejor del torneo🥹
— Liga BBVA MX (@LigaBBVAMX) April 16, 2023
66 mil 364 aficionados en el @EstadioAzteca para ver el #ClásicoJoven.
La mejor entrada en el #Clausura2023
¡GRACIAS AFICIÓN!🫡 pic.twitter.com/sOsQhfY4ma
Which Stadium Will Host the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final?
Despite the 2026 FIFA World Cup having three host nations, FIFA has already determined that all of the knockout stage games will be played in the US.
So, with the largest stadium of the tournament, two more Mexican venues, and the two Canadian venues ruled out, where will the final take place?
FIFA is yet to officially announce which stadium will host the 2026 World Cup Final, but there appears to be a lot of momentum behind MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
As the largest US stadium at the 2026 World Cup, it would make sense for the New York-New Jersey host stadium to be the setting for the biggest game in soccer, but the AT&T Stadium in Texas only has 2,500 fewer seats.
— MetLife Stadium (@MetLifeStadium) April 13, 2023
What is the Largest Canadian Stadium to Host the 2026 World Cup?
The largest stadium in Canada that’s set to host 2026 FIFA World Cup games is BC Place. The Vancouver venue is home to several professional sports teams, was the main stadium of the 2010 Winter Olympics, and holds over 54,000 people.
The 1983-opened stadium has plenty of experience hosting soccer matches. The Vancouver Whitecaps of the NASL called it home in the 80s, and then Whitecaps FC returned in 2011, and with them, MLS match days.
In 2015, the Whitecaps finished third overall, but with just eight games played at the time of writing, the home team of BC Place, the Whitecaps, has been all but written off at +6600 in the soccer betting to take the MLS crown.
There may not be MLS glory coming to BC Place in 2023, but at the very least, it’s only three more years until Vancouver will stage a bunch of group games for the biggest single-sport tournament in the world.
Tomorrow, our Northern Lights Display will remain off throughout the day in observance of @earthhour 🌎
— BC Place (@bcplace) March 25, 2023
The Biggest Hour for Earth is a precious moment of unity, as we play our part in protecting our one shared home.
📸: Flickr/Andrew Cantarutti pic.twitter.com/F9JkITgVmZ
What is the Smallest 2026 FIFA World Cup Stadium?
The smallest 2026 FIFA World Cup stadium looks set to be BMO Field of Toronto in Canada. The home of Toronto FC and the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL currently seats just under 31,000 people but is due to be expanded.
After the BMO Field expansion is complete, Toronto will be able to sell tickets to 45,736 seats in the stadium. Even with this, however, the Canadian stadium will still be smaller in capacity than Estadio Akron (48,071) near Guadalajara.
𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭. // 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐭.
— Toronto FC (@TorontoFC) March 11, 2023
And only one place to be. Toronto, we're home. pic.twitter.com/8LzLUHciWa
The 2026 FIFA World Cup gets underway on June 11, with Canada and Mexico taking part in hosting duties for the massive opening group stage of the tournament, contributing five superb stadiums to the event.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 25th April 2023
