16 stadiums of the 2026 World Cup: a complete guide
From Estadio Azteca at 2,240 metres of altitude to the expanded BMO Field in Toronto — a tour of all 16 arenas of the 2026 World Cup across the USA, Mexico and Canada.
The 2026 World Cup will be played across 16 stadiums in three countries: eleven in the United States, three in Mexico, two in Canada. Over 39 days — June 11 to July 19 — 104 matches will be staged. This is the first tournament with 48 teams, and expanding to three hosts forced an unprecedented geography: from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic, from subtropical Miami to cool Vancouver.
Four stadiums have retractable roofs: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, NRG Stadium in Houston, and BC Place in Vancouver. The first three are fully climate-controlled, which matters in June and July heat across Texas and Georgia. SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles does not technically have a retractable roof, but a translucent fixed canopy covers the bowl.
AT&T Stadium is the largest venue of the tournament at 92,967 seats. It will host nine matches, including a semi-final on July 14. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will host the other semi-final — its roof opens like a camera aperture in 10 to 12 minutes. MetLife Stadium in New Jersey hosts the final on July 19.
Estadio Azteca — renamed Mexico City Stadium for the tournament under FIFA's clean-venue rules, after Banorte bank bought the commercial naming rights in 2026 — will become the first stadium in history to host three opening ceremonies, in 1970, 1986, and now on June 11, 2026. Its altitude of 2,240 metres is a sporting factor in itself: visiting teams need time to acclimatise. Post-renovation capacity sits around 83,000.
Mexico's two other venues are Estadio BBVA outside Monterrey, with 53,500 seats, and Estadio Akron in Zapopan near Guadalajara, with 48,000. Estadio Akron is the only tournament arena that will not host a knockout match — group stage only.
BMO Field in Toronto saw the most dramatic transformation. It was expanded from 30,000 to 45,500 by adding temporary stands for the World Cup. It is the smallest arena of the tournament. Canada plays its opening match here on June 12. BC Place in Vancouver is Canada's only retractable-roof stadium, with a rare PTFE-membrane inflatable cable-supported roof system.
The US West Coast brings in three cities. SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (Los Angeles) was the most expensive arena in the world at opening, with a construction budget exceeding $5 billion. Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara (San Francisco area) is home to the 49ers and known for the large solar installation on its roof. Lumen Field in Seattle is one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL and MLS, and it will host six games, including two knockout matches.
Central US: Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, NRG Stadium in Houston, and AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Each is the home of an NFL franchise, and each had to widen the field to international football dimensions, which is mandatory for FIFA.
East Coast: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough (Boston), Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford (New York / New Jersey), Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Hard Rock will host the third-place play-off. MetLife hosts the final.
Spectator logistics are not trivial. The two closest host cities — Boston and Philadelphia — sit roughly 500 kilometres apart. Vancouver to Miami is about 5,500 kilometres as the crow flies. FIFA grouped teams into regional clusters within the bracket to minimise group-stage flights, but the knockout rounds will inevitably push the surviving squads across the continent.
Every arena except Estadio Akron will host at least one knockout match. The distribution is uneven: the US gets 78 of the 104 matches, while Canada and Mexico get 13 each. All quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final fall on the American side. That follows from capacity — five of the six largest tournament arenas are American.
For a fan interested in more than scorelines, the architectural range of these venues is notable. The set includes the historic 1966 Azteca, the 2020-vintage hypermodern SoFi, several converted NFL bowls, and one of MLS's older active grounds (BMO Field, 2007). It is the most heterogeneous stadium roster in men's World Cup history — a direct consequence of three countries sharing hosting duties.
