FIFA World Cup '26: News & Analysis

FIFA don't get a cut of train fares so why would they do that? Fair point that there may not be alternatives.

 

A cab from Jersey City or Newark would cost about $50 plus tip and tolls on a normal weekday evening. I'm guessing that will go up significantly during the World Cup. You could take a train to Wood-Ridge which is a 4 mile walk away.

The jitney mini buses (colloquially known as gypsy buses) that take commuters to and from the city from NJ might be repurposed.

 

Good question. Not sure, really. But there is no bus option from Manhattan-* like there normally is for Metlife.

 

2026 World Cup TV Scoreboard Revealed





https://www.footyheadlines.com/2026/04/new-2026-world-cup-tv-scoreboard.html

 

BREAKING

NJ Transit confirm @TheAthleticFC report of $150 round-trip rail tickets to World Cup at MetLife Stadium.

Alternative bus service is $80 (!) per passenger.

Locals in area to be asked to work from home if possible to help flow of stations. https://t.co/sqQEgu5lL9

— Adam Crafton (@AdamCrafton_) April 17, 2026

 

Today's NJTransit press conference, outlining:
- $62M WC transportation budget, reduced to $48M through: $10.6M in federal funds + $3.6M from NY/NJ Host Committee.
- 2025 CWC NJ train tickets: 19821 tickets subsidized at 82% by NJ tax payers, at a $12.90 round-trip fare.
- 2026 WC NJ train tickets would be subsidized at 92% by NJ tax payers, if $12.90 round-trip fare was kept.
- Available now, three MetLife bus shuttles for $80 round-trip: two from NYC, one from Hackensack.
- Available on May 13, the infamous MetLife train ticket for $150 round-trip from any train station.

 

Honestly, if the cost for NJ transit to run a train from Penn Station to Metlife is $161 per passenger something is VERY VERY WRONG IN NJ. This is a load of horse manure.

 

I agree.

NJTransit mentioned they received new units to support high-volume WC transportation. Regular commuters will reap the benefits of that new fleet, no doubt.

Similar to what MBTA did at Foxboro: $35M upgrade of Foxboro train station to support high-volume WC transportation. NFL+MLS fans will benefit from that infrastructure upgrade.

I am wondering what this will do to attendance numbers at MetLife. The whole world will be watching.

 

I see the mafia is still alive and well in Jersey.

 

🚨 OFFICIAL: Saudi Arabia sack head coach Hervé Renard with immediate effect before World Cup! 👋🏼🇸🇦

Renard had returned for a second spell as Saudi coach at the end of 2024. pic.twitter.com/yhwU0OMAkS

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 17, 2026

Cape Verde 1-0 Saudi Arabia

 

Does Jürgen have Matt Crockers phone #?

 

I dunno, but not even Mourinho would be able to turn that roster into anything of note. It's a pretty bad team.

 

Seems logical.
The prices are pretty high.

 

Good reporting by both Adam Crafton and Henry Bushnell:

The document, dated April 10 and shared with hosts to ensure adequate planning, listed 40,934 tickets purchased for that June 12 match between the U.S. and Paraguay, compared with 50,661 for the Iran-New Zealand match three days later at the same venue, SoFi Stadium.
:
And at those prices, tickets to U.S.-Paraguay have been selling slowly. Thousands have been listed on FIFA’s ticketing site ever since the so-called “Last-Minute Sales Phase” began April 1. On April 9, when The Athletic started tracking availability daily, there were 2,529 available on a first-come, first-served basis. Ten days later, on April 19, there were 2,232.​

FIFA allowing the USA opening match to fail is shameless.

There is also SoFi staff's labor dispute, who demand guarantees of ICE agents being prohibited from operating around SoFi. Labor strike during WC matches is an option.

 

I mean, its the main intent in a 'marketplace' setup that everything gets sold at roughly the same rate, even the things that are more appealing.

 

According to a Boston press conference yesterday that emphasized city fan festival details they also revealed some interesting data about Match ticket sales for "Boston Stadium".
They mentioned that about 1/3 of the tickets purchased so far for all the matches are by New England residents. About 1/3 are being purchased from US residents from other parts of the country and 1/3 have been purchased overseas.

That last third is kind of surprising considering the media and social media people are saying foreigners don't want to visit or travel to the USA.

 

Compared to previous WCs this is obviously much lower than before and probably the lowest since maybe Japan/Korea.

Thinking about it, it is an incredibly hard stat to figure out what would be 'normal'. Obviously Qatar was 95%+ foreigners, that was evident to me by the like 5 Qatar fan sections in their home match vs Senegal. Any European WC is going to be at least 50% foreigners because the countries are actually small.

Some fans will travel tho and don't care about the news/cost. I am in that boat, I will go to every World Cup regardless of where it is because they are all super fun and awesome, some more than others but still awesome in some way.

Like, who regrets traveling? lol