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

I was talking specifically about this specific matchup (Belgium-Egypt)....I'd obviously be willing to pay more for tickets to a better interesting matchup.

Also note that part of my calculation of how much I'm willing to pay is the fact that FIFA has grossly "inflated" seat categories.....many seats now categorized as "Cat 1" used to be "Cat 2 or Cat 3" at previous World Cups....many seats now categorized as "Cat 2" used to be "Cat 3 or Cat 4".

For perspective, FIFA is asking $380 for Cat 2 Belgium-Egypt tickets that were $100 for the Sounders/FC Miami League Cup Final (which featured the home club playing for a major title against Lionel Messi). They're asking $600+ for Cat 1 tickets for Belgium-Egypt that were $200-300 for Sounders/Miami.

That's crazy......

They're hugely over-estimating the desirability of some of these matches....

 

Where do you get the idea that 60% of tickets to matches like Belgium-Egypt have already been sold? I'm guessing that figure is more like 20-30%. And at these prices there will be very few successful applicants for the less desirable matchups because nobody is going to apply for them AT THESE PRICE POINTS.

 

5million requests…to “nobody” is a stretch.

 

The real interesting data points would be the breakdown by match & category.

How many of those requests are for Cat 3 USA-Paraguay tickets vs how many are for Cat 1 Austria-Jordan tickets?

I'm sure that there are some matches getting 20 requests for every available seat in a category, and some matches that have 20 available seats for every request in a category.

 

Is there any full table with the Random selection draw prices for all 104 matches?

 

Demand is demand. Hard to spin 5 million pre-paid request in just 24 hours. But I’m sure they’ll keep trying.

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1n7LgoxxJEQPNA7Zqdu8Ds4EfwbdWzvKpJRNLN7Oj9Ys/edit?gid=0#gid=0

 

2 million pre draw plus 25% that is for hospitality and sponsors

 

Any email? Or if you log back in does it say that you applied? I did the same thing but just dont want to take the risk that i cant do it again…
Also any one knows if match 100 would be portugal vs argentina? In case they make it that far? Chat gpt says no, gemini says yes
Want to buy that one just in case

 

Would this not count as robbery when FIFA is a non-profit who will rake in billions of USD in profits and will certainly NOT use it to increase football infrastructure or support underdeveloped countries?

 

Yes M100 is the hypothetical Arg vs Portugal in QF in Kansas

 

It would be funny if it ends up being Uruguay-Colombia.

 

For Australia it was max 2 tickets per match in the group stage. There was also the conditional series option which I did not bother with as that's really only just for the 'cool kids', Argentina, Spain, France etc.

 

Belgium-Egypt is a better than average matchup in a 48-team group stage. Some stadiums got some real crap where locals would probably love to see this matchup.

Also, you really should stop use anything MLS-related to extrapolate how this World Cup go. It's really not instructive for anything relating to this.

 

Has your email been replied to or have you received an access code?

 

We'll have to agree to disagree.....for me, Belgium/Egypt is a below average match.....DeBruyne and Salah are past their prime, Egypt didn't even qualify for 2022, and Belgium didn't make it out of the group stages. Great matchup in 2018.....in 2026, not so much.

And MLS data can in some situations shed light on how locals calculate ticket valuations....at least here in Seattle, the interest level in the Sounders/FC Miami Leagues Cup final was/is much higher than the interest level in Belgium vs Egypt, Egypt vs Iran, and Qatar vs Italy/Wales group stage matches.

 

I’m not sure how much the stadium atmosphere and off-field festivities matter to you (they do to a lot of people). But the Egyptian fans are likely to show up in large numbers, and I’ve always found them to be a lot of fun. Belgium of course won’t have many fans there, but they’re well-organized and boisterous beyond their numbers. For World Cup matches, I tend to favor having a fun time in the stadium and city just as much as what happens in those two hours on the field. I’ll take Tunisia-Colombia over France-Portugal, especially in the group stage.

I know Seattle is a good soccer city (or at least has that reputation). But I was surprised to see the Sounders didn’t sell out their home CWC matches. Yes, two of the matches were during weekday afternoons. But those are still some of the biggest matches in their history and one was against European champion PSG.

 

You're probably one of the rare few here that believes a Pot 1 team vs. a competitive team with probably a Top 10 world superstar is a below average match.

Comparing an MLS match to the World Cup is like saying we can make conclusions on ticket sales to a Sabrina Carpenter concert (since she came up earlier) in Seattle because Air Supply only drew so much there. It's apples and oranges and the World Cup will get more regional, national, and international people to travel to it than the MLS ever will.

 

I have never been to a match with Egypt, but I did happen to time my trip to the stadium right with the official Romania stadium walk when they played Belgium at the last Euros. It was definitely a memorable experience. Being around Georgia (especially with it being their first time) and Albania supporters were a lot of fun too. Not going to lie, I would rather be around some Uzbekistan and DR Congo/Jamaican supporters than a bunch of fawning Ronaldo fans. No offense to Ronaldo fans, of course.

 

Thanks

 

The teams in Australia's group are around the same rankings, and only the last place team will definitely not making the next round.

So, I applied for conditional Round of 32 and 16. You never know. I was in Qatar and luckily got the conditional tix to watch Argentina v the Socceroos.

 

MLS obviously isn’t an exact comparison, especially for looking at ticket prices. But most World Cup matches rely on neutral local (maybe regional) people to fill most of the seats, especially outside the major tourist destinations (this time Miami, LA, Mexico, NYC). So having a local population that is engaged with following soccer provides some indication of interest.

 

They'll definitely put the LA one on Fox. There are only two games on 6/12: Canada-UEFA at 3pm ET and USA-Paraguay at 9pm ET, so there won't be any overlap in that regard (barring an hours-long thunderstorm in Toronto).

 

Amazing Post mate, and thank you for replying!

Flying on the day of the game (And through FLL) is the way to get to NYC on Points, as direct flights were not available unfortunately. That may put me in strife if I go through with this however that's apart of the fun hahah

Regarding Europe, went and did that earlier this year and was another amazing experience. Got to over 25 Matches in 5 weeks or so from rural clubs in the Netherlands, all the way to City vs Madrid in the UCL!

Anyways, I really appreciate the post, it doesn't go unnoticed and I've added some of the information you provided to my planning documents, so thank you for that!

 

It's a very even and competitive group for sure. We could top it or finish last. Nothing will surprise me. If Turkey make it that'll make it a very strong group. Didn't go the conditional route as meeting up with the rest of the family in NY for a week after the group stage and have already purchased r32 tickets for that particular match up. Trying to get 3 more for wife/daughters now. There is a slight possibility that if Australia finish 3rd we may end up playing in that r32 NY match probably against France. I lucked it in Qatar for that Argentina game as it was part of the 4 match/4stadium series ticket I purchased. After NY off to Greece to watch the rest of the tournament at the beach bars and seaside taverns.