AFAIK, that hasn’t been decided but I think the assumption is that it will be likely given the expanded field
Only two Group Stage matches per team in 2026. 16 Groups of Three teams. Top two advance to a round of 32.
That is correct.
USA vs ABC in NYC
ABC vs XYZ in LA
USA vs XYZ in Philly
Tough shit for ABC and XYZ fans, having to cross the country.
Understand now why Toronto has to spend so much on hosting matches: they will be using BMO field which currently has capacity of 28,000. That will need to be expanded to 40,000+. It is already a grass field at least.
Vancouver has to install grass but I expect security is by far the biggest expense. No major infrastructure improvements needed as billions were spent on that for 2010 Olympic Winter Games and 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Regarding the schedule, I imagine it will likely be something roughly close to how it was put together in the original bid book: https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/3c077448dcd5c0ab/original/w3yjeu7dadt5erw26wmu-pdf.pdf
Draft schedule is on page 141. Given that only 2 CAN venues were chosen, I’d approximate by changing CAN3 to US11. The bid book recommended NY for the final. I’d say that’s likely, but it certainly could be LA or DAL. That makes US1 NYC in the bid book. The bid book recommended DAL and ATL for the semis, largely due to stadium size and central location. Seems reasonably likely. That makes DAL and ATL US7 and US10, but no idea which is which. Since they recommended the first match in the US be in LA, that makes LA US2. A quick glance makes it look like that’s the only city with 7 proposed matches.
So presumably there will only be 3, rather than 4, Pools for the 2026 draw for the first round? Automatic host qualification for Canada, US and Mexico should not encourage them to coast in the lead-up given how advantageous Pool 1or 2 qualification will be in 2026.
With 16 venues and 16 groups…wouldn’t it make the most sense to schedule the matches such that no travel was required at the group stage?
Of course.
Will they? Probably not.
I even suggested above a way to limit said travel, by having two groups switch back and forth between two geographically close venues.
I mean, if it’s only for US citizens, then sure, make the teams travel all over the place. US citizens would get to see up to six different teams in the three matches played in their local venue.
If a goal is to induce fer’ners to visit the USA, making them travel thousands of miles in the USA for (potentially) only two matches seems a turnoff to planning.
Maybe these fans have thousands of dollars to spend, I don’t know.
Gotta make that grass investment worth it! (Not sure how it will be watered in 2026…)
Too bad. Remember USA have to go to Manaus?
Yes, I remember. And I hope that was considered a mistake not to be repeated.
Here is a picture that shows what has to be done to SoFi.
Those sideline corners that jut out would have to go, if only perhaps temporarily. Probably about 30 seats per corner, and if permanent, some season-ticket holders are gonna be pissed at being moved. They are the suckiest front row seats in the place, though.
Still makes no sense to me that Kroenke would build a state of the art stadium that couldn’t easily fit a soccer pitch in.
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If he were some Eurotrash billionaire, then yes, it would make no sense.
But he’s a Country Bumpkin billionaire from Murica who probably wonders why his Arsenal players aren’t wearing helmets and THAT IS NOT WHAT OFFSIDES MEANS, ZEBRA!
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Even so, I think they started design on that stadium after the WC was awarded. You would think he’d want a piece of that pie even if he doesn’t understand the sport. Owning a major global club makes it even worse of course.
More, about the pitches:
This blog says the MetLife Stadium is also narrower than FIFA wants, but wiki says some stands are moveable.
Here’s how high DAL has to raise their pitch for WC26 due to width issues:
They’ll obviously lose a bunch of rows in the lower bowl to make that happen
Wow, that’s pretty high. 15 feet?
So, platform of 12 feet (what would that be made of to simulate Earth?), followed by 3 feet of dirt and a grass turf on top.
Plus, that platform would cover those lost seats, because no one should want the players falling off.
Then, I wonder where the team benches would be put. I’m sure they have all that figured out.
Then, afterward, it’s all taken down for fuh’baw.
Yes, 15 feet. No idea on the construction details, but that’s how high it needs to be to get around the narrower spots.