FIFA World Cup '26: News & Analysis

im curious how the groups will work.

We now have 3 home teams.

Would USA get A1?, how is mex and the canada group gonna be?

 

I thought it was Canada A1 - Mexico E1 and USA ℵ01

J

That might have been I1 for the USA though

 

I think USA should host the opening game. It’s not a guarantee they make it to the final

 

In the draw that used to be posted here (dead link now) I1 played on Day 1, so I assume the USA plays the opening match.

J

 

That sorta makes sense, especially since there is flexibility given that the host nations span 4 timezones. So its possible to have the 3 hosts play on the same day, without any of them getting the "bad" early-afternoon timeslot.

 

This thread has not been used in a while so I thought a recent (brief) article about Stadium/ Host market discussion would help bump this into life again:
https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2020/01/16/ranking-which-us-cities-should-host-2026-world-cup/

 

that article sucks, just someones personal opinion without much any background info

 

I don't know why state boundaries would be a factor. Surely it will be up to city/region size, geographic location, stadium extravagance, that kind of stuff.

 

yoooooo

 

So how is the groups going to work?

USA host the opening game?

Then Mexico host 2 groups

Then Canada host 2 groups

The groups that start play in Mex and Can, do they stay there until the quarters?

 

I kinda like this, so Canada would at least get to open the World Cup since Mexico and USA already opened a WC

 

We won't know until FIFA publish their schedule. They have last say on everything from now on and aren't binded by the bid book.

 

I did a list a while ago based on the key principles in the bid book. I agree you with on 8 out 10 of those picks. In place of San Francisco I have Denver and in place of Miami I have Orlando. Actually, the latter might have been wishful thinking on my part as by the time the tournament starts I'm expecting to have family there so want to double up a trip to see them with a trip to see the group stage games there.

IIRC from the bid book the key principles for venue selection are a preference for the most modern stadiums and a gradual movement of matches from west to east as the tournament progresses.

I also made the following notes at the time - not 100% sure now if these were from the bid book or another article but for what it's worth:


"Opening day to have three matches in each country, each featuring the hosts. First opening day game to either be in Mexico City or Los Angeles."

"Final expected to be in New Jersey. Semis in Dallas and Atlanta."

 

I like that the first day that all 3 host nations get a game, however it messes up the timing for the other group game matches.

So if USA is A1 it wouldnt make any sense for Mexico at D1 to play a game the same day, then whomever in A3 would play when?

 

Ok, I think I take your point. But just to clarify, Canada is A1 (hence why they have two group games in Canada), Mexico is E1 (only team with two group games in Mexico) and USA is I1.

So let's take the USA. They open on Day 1 in match I1 v I2. The other team in the group, I3, doesn't kick a ball in anger until Day 8, when they play I2. Out of interest that game is scheduled to be in Mexico. The USA then re-emerges on Day 12, when they play I3. That game is in the USA but not the same city as the opening match. I think this illustrates the point you're making - the matches within a group are spread quite apart.

One thing that concerns me is even taking that one group into example and even considering the bid book says they will regional cluster teams and groups, there is going to be a heck of a lot of traveling involved. If the USA starts in Los Angeles, a potential regional cluster could mean the I2 v I3 game takes place in Monterrey, and the final group game takes place in............you tell me? San Francisco is a possibility, or it could be Houston for it's proximity to Mexico. Either way, there is going to be considerable travel and the consequent expense involved for fans of visiting teams.

 

I dont think travelling will be an issue to FIFA. USA is already home to a ton of people from all over the world. If Japan has to play in Seattle and the next match has to be in Miami (which is on the opposite end of the country from Seattle) for them I doubt FIFA will have a problem filling up the stadium with Japanese fans.

This World Cup I expect almost all games to be filled to capacity. I think USA 94 was damn near sold out for every game.

 

Well I don't know whether travel distances are an issue for FIFA but certainly the bid book at pages 142-143 makes references to regionally clustering groups and having used specialist software to calculate the shortest travel distance between matches. The problem is, when dealing with a beast of host such as CAN-MEX-USA, even the shortest distance can be quite a long distance! Eg, in my previous example the fans of I2 would have to travel 1217 miles between Los Angeles and Monterrey.

 

Football

 

The world is going to flip when they market this as the "2026 Men's World Cup of Soccer"

 

Anyone know if the final host venues are still being confirmed on 16th June? I'm really interested to see which cities make the final cut.

 

For the 10 hosting venues that I can see for sure happening for you Americans...I'm Canadian by the way but anyway for my predictions:

1- Atlanta
2- Miami
3- Dallas
4- New York
5- Seattle
6- Washington DC
7- Los Angeles
8- Houston
9- Boston
10- Denver

 

Which makes perfect sense of course seeing as how all 3 countries are co hosting this event