World Cup 2026: Focus shifts to LA as SoFi Stadium will host one of the games
LOS ANGELES - Now that the 2022 FIFA World Cup has wrapped up, all eyes will soon shift to North America for the next tournament, with Los Angeles being named one of the host cities.
In 2026, Los Angeles will welcome fans from across the world as SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will host some of the tournament games. The World Cup hosting duties will come two years before Los Angeles once again takes center stage for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
As fans and the three co-host national teams gear up for the 2026 World Cup's here's everything you need to know about the big tournament in June and July for that year:
WHICH GAMES WILL BE PLAYED AT SOFI STADIUM?
As of December 2022, officials have not announced which games will be played at SoFi Stadium. The last time the United States hosted the World Cup, the final match took place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in 1994, where Brazil beat Italy to capture the nation's then-fourth title.
Below is a list of cities also hosting games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup:
- Western host cities: Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara
- Central host cities: Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Monterrey, Mexico City, Atlanta
- Eastern host cities: Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, New York
WHO WILL PLAY IN THE 2026 WORLD CUP?
As co-hosts, Canada, Mexico and U.S. have automatically qualified for the World Cup.
This should give USMNT fans a major sigh of relief as they won't have to worry about possibly missing out on the big tournament. USMNT fans remember the agony of missing the 2018 World Cup after losing to Trinidad and Tobago during the qualifying rounds months before the tournament.
For Mexico, it gives El Tri a chance to redeem itself after an embarrassing group stage exit in the 2022 tournament. Prior to the disappointing showing, the team's then-manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino had to address countless questions on his controversial decision to leave LA Galaxy star Javier "Chicharito" Hernández and LAFC star Carlos Vela off the national team roster.
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Canada, who just ended a 36-year World Cup drought in the 2022 games, will look forward to playing back-to-back tournaments. Like Mexico, the Canadian national team also couldn't make it out of the group stage in this year's tournament.
That leaves 45 openings for the 2026 World Cup. FIFA's organizers had voted in 2017 to expand the tournament from 32 to 48 teams. Given that we're not even done with the 2022 World Cup, fans will have to wait at least three to four years until they get a much clearer picture of which countries are and aren't likely to qualify for the 2026 tournament.