Levi's Stadium set to host six FIFA World Cup matches in 2026
Levi's Stadium set to host six FIFA World Cup matches in 2026
Though the 2026 FIFA World Cup is still two years away, the public now knows that the San Francisco Bay Area, more specifically Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, will host six total matches; five matches in the group stage and one match in the round of 32 knockout round.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Though the 2026 FIFA World Cup is still two years away, the public now knows that the San Francisco Bay Area, more specifically Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, will host six total matches; five matches in the group stage and one match in the round of 32 knockout round.
The tournament will be jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
On Sunday, FIFA officials revealed where the matches will be played, including the opening matches for each host country and the final.
"I'm just stoked," said Zach Holman, president of the San Francisco chapter of the American Outlaws, a nationwide supporters group of the U.S. men's and women's national teams.
The USMNT will open its World Cup campaign at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Their second group stage match will be in Seattle, and they'll return to SoCal for their third match.
Their opponents will be decided after every nation qualified for the other 45 spots; host nations automatically qualify.
This will be the first World Cup with 48 teams in the playing field, with well over 100 matches played.
"I've already seen people start mapping out the journey," said Holman. "Driving up, from Seattle to LA, flights and stuff. People are already mapping out where they're going to be in 2026."
Preparing for the World Cup will start this summer.
Levi's Stadium is set to host matches for this year's Copa América, a tournament of South American nations, which invite a handful of countries from other continents.
The United States will participate this year. Levi's also hosted matches for last year's Gold Cup tournament.
The diversity of the Bay Area is likely what attracts FIFA and its other governing bodies. At least, that's what the CEO of the Bay Area Host Committee pitched.
"If it's not the U.S., that means we'll get a number of international teams that will come here," said Zaileen Janmohamed, the committee's CEO. "We focus on the diversity in the Bay, so I'm thrilled to see that play out."
The committee also helped create bids to host Super Bowl LX, also at Levi's Stadium in 2026, as well as the NBA All-Star Weekend at Chase Center next year.
It plans to use this summer's Copa América as a dress rehearsal for the summer of 2026.
"We're looking at Copa as a test event for us," said Janmohamed. "We'll look at a lot of different logistics, we'll look at pitch, fan ingress and egress. All of those things will be great test events for us."
"Between all of this and the World Cup and we might get 2027 Women's World Cup, this is the best time to be a U.S. soccer fan," said Holman.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins June 11, 2026.
The final will be played at Metlife Stadium, home of the New York Jets and Giants, on July 19, 2026.