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The 2026 World Cup Final Is Being Held In... New Jersey

The 2026 World Cup Final Is Being Held In... New Jersey
Prepare for a lot of jokes about Italians on your timelines today, and understand that it all stems from this decision by FIFA and not from any actual Italians who happen to live in New Jersey. Capische?
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The 2026 men's World Cup is set to take place across North America, and while we've had that information for some time, it was only the vague promise of games being played in the US, Canada and Mexico. As of February 4, however, we now also know where the final game on July 19 will be held: the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

MetLife Stadium is not known for its capacity, nor for being a shiny new gem that's great for hosting events (those would be the SoFi Stadium in LA and the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where the Super Bowl will be held this year). MetLife is known for having horrible fake grass and having players get hurt on the turf — and this will be particularly glaring and alarming to any Giants or Jets fans, of course. But it turns out that stadiums in Los Angeles and Dallas eventually ended up losing to The Garden State.

Not only is the stadium itself a point of ridicule by NFL fans, but this news taps into the greater America vs. Europe debate. You cannot get to MetLife by way of public transit or walking, so lots of people from around the world are going to be in for a hard lesson when they book hotels and have to rent cars. The massive parking lots will be a whole new way of tailgating for many soccer fanatics from South America or Asia.

There were a lot of different ways to slice the proverbial meme sausage here — and yes, I am alluding to the fact that many Italian-Americans live in New Jersey and might be attending this game for a lark. Their interactions with international fans could be a terrific thing, or just consist a lot of jokes about "The Sopranos." Only time will tell.


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