The 2026 World Cup is played across 16 stadiums: 11 in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada. Most of the US venues are NFL stadiums, which means large capacities and artificial turf that FIFA required to be replaced with natural grass for the tournament.
In the United States: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (82,000, hosts the final); AT&T Stadium near Dallas (80,000); SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles (70,000); Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (72,000); Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City (76,000); Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia (69,000); Lumen Field in Seattle (69,000); Levi's Stadium near San Francisco (68,000); Hard Rock Stadium in Miami (65,000); Gillette Stadium near Boston (65,000).
In Mexico: Estadio Azteca in Mexico City (87,000, hosts the opening match); Estadio BBVA in Monterrey (53,000); Estadio Akron in Guadalajara (49,000).
In Canada: BC Place in Vancouver (54,000); BMO Field in Toronto (expanded to around 45,000 for the tournament).
The Azteca is the largest venue in the competition and the only one that has hosted World Cup matches before. It did so in 1970 and 1986. The 1970 final was played there. So was the 1986 quarter-final where Maradona scored twice against England. No other stadium in 2026 comes close to that kind of history, which is part of why the opening match going to Mexico City made sense.