MetLife Stadium, known as New York/New Jersey Stadium for the World Cup, will host the tournament's final due to its proximity to New York City and massive capacity
06:00 ET, 07 Jun 2026
MetLife Stadium
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MetLife Stadium, renamed New York/NEw Jersey Stadium, will host eight World Cup games(Image: Getty Images)
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final is set for MetLife Stadium — renamed New York/New Jersey Stadium for the tournament due to sponsorship reasons — on July 19th.
The home of the NFL's New York Jets and New York Giants — and near the site of a brutal fire in mid-May — has the second largest capacity of any professional stadium in the United States at 82,500. It will host eight total World Cup matches.
The first-place venue is AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, with a capacity of 100,000, though 20,000 of those seats are standing room only and will be removed for the World Cup. Nicknamed "Jerry's World" after bombastic Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, AT&T Stadium will host nine matches.
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New York/New Jersey Stadium history
After spending decades at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the Jets and Giants pitched a new joint stadium on the west side of Manhattan in what is now Hudson Yards.
The supposed 85,000-seater stadium would have been dangled as a major piece in New York City's attempted bid to host the 2012 Olympics (eventually held in London).
MetLife Stadium
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The Giants and Jets have called MetLife Stadium home since 2010(Image: Getty Images)
However, MetLife Stadium was constructed in East Rutherford on the Meadowlands Sports Complex, around 10 miles west of the proposed Hudson Yards venue.
The first sporting event at the stadium was a lacrosse event — the Big City Classic — on April 10, 2010. The Giants played their first home game on September 12 later that year, beating the Carolina Panthers 31-18.
Soccer history
MetLife Stadium has long been used for both club and international soccer matches, including in competitive tournaments. The first exhibition was an international friendly between Mexico and Ecuador on May 7, 2010.
The United States men's national team made its debut at the East Rutherford venue on August 10, losing 2-0 to Brazil in front of over 77,000 fans.
MetLife Stadium
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MetLife Stadium was the site of the 2025 Club World Cup final between Chelsea and PSG(Image: Getty Images)
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick for Argentina in a 4-3 win over Brazil in the heart of his famous 90-goal 2012 campaign, a year in which he captured his fourth consecutive Balon d'Or.
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MatLife Stadium hosted the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and other heavyweights during various International Champions Cups — a former summer tournament of friendlies for European teams — in the 2010s.
During the same period, the ground was a regular host for knockout games of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, a tournament pitting the United States against the other top teams in North America.
MetLife Stadium arguably got its biggest World Cup tuneup during the summer of 2025, when it hosted a series of Club World Cup games, including the final featuring Chelsea against PSG.