Going to North America '26: tickets, accommodations, etc. (non-politics)

Good question. FIFA is so wrapped up in their marketing and greed that they can't even keep their rules and regulations straight. They certainly have trouble having their software match their rules. I do believe app transferring gives no resale or transfer rights to the recipient (beyond returning to the sender), whereas transfer right now is absolute change in ownership. But like everything else with WC ticketing, who really knows until it happens...

 

Purchasers who gained access to the first round of the Visa pre-sale were able to obtain tickets to the final for the first couple of hours of the sale. Keep in mind that many of those accepted to purchase during that phase were still in queue at this time, so a lot depends on how quickly you gain access to the sales portal, as well as how many tickets have been allocated for a given match.

 

Makes sense, thanks. Do you happen to know if tickets in my cart are "claimed" or if that only happens if I complete the purchase?

 

Interesting post from footballmeetsdata. Suggests play off teams will be seeded based on highest seed in each play off path. Italy thus could end up in Pot 1.

🚨 BREAKING!

💥 We have strong indication that FIFA will CHANGE the seeding principle for teams that will qualify for WC 2026 via Play-offs!

🔙 At WC 2022 in Qatar, all PO teams were automatically placed into Pot 4, regardless of their FIFA pts.

🆕 But for WC 2026, FIFA is… pic.twitter.com/tcRsk9DOwK

— Football Meets Data (@fmeetsdata) November 9, 2025

 

no clue if that is correct, but since it is more complicated and more intransparent it may well be the truth

 

Protecting the hosts as they had a highest chance of facing a euro playoff team under the old assumed system especially after the concacaf teams were split in their playoffs. It's bad news for the bottom half of world cup teams teams especially the bottom third or so.

As someone said in the news thread, really any playoff teams shouldn't be able to go in Pot 1, but imagine if Italy lose again in eventual pot 1 playoff route and we then have a team like Sweden or even Northern Ireland or Moldova in Pot 1. Hopefully Norway do all of us (and Germany) a favour next week.

Excited to see the full draw procedure in a few weeks time.

 

If the favour is Norway finishing second I think you can forget about that.

 

Correct. But Italy need to win in order to preserve their pot 1 status otherwise they'd be overtaken by Germany and/or Croatia who realistically need the win themselves if they were to win their own groups if you check the image in that tweet.

 

Surely you can only get a max. of four per game so even that woudl total just 32 tickets.

In the Visa stage I was fortunate that my two accounts both cam up which meant I could have bought 80 tickets. That cannot be right however many relatives friends etc. one has.

 

I do wish FIFA would stop making up the rules as they go along.

 

To be fair, they haven’t publish the draw procedure yet.

 

Yes but that is my point, should they not had done so some time ago otherwise it all sounds a bit contrived.

 

Fifa are making up prices as they go from one day to another so why not make the draw totally unpredictable too?

 

I believe the draw would take place on 20th Nov, matches would be played in March 2026. By then, FIFA rankings would definitely change too

 

People are very greedy. Natural human condition. Competition is what drives us forward, it is why technology moves forward. In football terms there can be no doubt that Messi and Ronaldo have been in competition and that has helped them excel. If there had only been one indisputable best player in the world they might not have pushed themselves so hard for so long. We criticise FIFA for maximising income but many want to maximise their tickets. Whether it is people that want to watch every one of their team's matches or simply as many matches as possible. The fact is that there are many, many more people that want to attend than will be able to. It is inevitable that there will be losers and increased demand this time round looks likely to mean that money rather than effort gains success. At least for the most attractive matches. Those that want to experience any matches will likely be rewarded at lower prices.

Has anyone got any thoughts on where the "place to be" will be for atmosphere away from stadia? In Brazil it was Rio, followed by Sao Paulo. In Russia Moscow was obvious and then St Petersburg. No choice in Qatar. This time the final is outside New York, which is a great city but will it have a World Cup vibe or will it be a bit indifferent? In the early stages Mexico City could be a better bet and it will definitely have that World Cup atmosphere. Otherwise everything will be so spread out. It might become clearer after the draw when we know where the bigger traveling supports will be.

 

I see your point.

Odds are in favour of Germany and Croatia winning both games so a defeat, or probably even a draw, for Italy against Norway would see them overtaken.

Thanks for clarifying.

 

I tried to purchase tickets on the FIFA's Resale Platform, I don't understand what's wrong with it. Match Number 32, category 3 gave me three options, each beginning at 862.5 USD.

Then I tried to cart each of the options, top to bottom individually and saw that they're all differently priced. one being 750, one being 800 and other being 900 before 15% charge. top most option being the cheapest and bottom most being the most expensive. I don't know if it's a pattern but It's such bullshit

 

I tried checking other matches, it's completely random. if there are two options showing for category, sometimes top option is cheaper, sometimes bottom option is cheaper. such a flawed design a person may miss out on the cheaper option, choosing one out of two options listed for the same category, even though both show the same starting price. This is the quality FIFA provides.

 

I should wait until after this current lottery stage as by then all the greedy bar stewards who bought far more than they need will start putting them on FIFA resell and hopefully at more competitive prices.

 

I get what you're saying, but I wanted to point out how defective their system is. Even if tickets cost less at a later stage on the resale platform, there are chances that many would purchase a slightly higher priced ticket because three options for the same category were listed(showing the same starting price) but when you click on the middle option for example, you end up with a higher priced ticket. This is outrageous!

 

No, I fully understand and that resale website is just rubbish. If only FIFA had enough money to upgrade it to something manageable.

 

Again its because as of now, each host group stage game has 3 different types of products,
Single Match Ticket
Venue Specific Ticket
Team Specific Ticket
So in your case, someone listed one cheaper than the others. No one is mising out on the others. Options are there for everyone to select the cheapest.

 

Does anyone know if the top seeded teams are likely to be the first game in the group schedule like the hosts are?

https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments...atch-schedule-fixtures-results-teams-stadiums

 

No, not until the draw procedure is confirmed. And the smart money is on the seeds in Group C being the first game at the Met Life, not Gillette Stadium for instance.

 

I think México City and Miami will have the best "World Cup vibe"