woke up this morning, got myself a gun
The 2026 World Cup Final Is Being Held In... New Jersey
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.
— Graham Ruthven (@grahamruthven) February 4, 2024
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.
Can’t wait to rent my apartment to a middle eastern oil baron for 75k/week https://t.co/JRGc9AOt0J
— #1 Jacob deGrom Hate Account (@GregsBadTweets) February 4, 2024
Europeans will have access to one of America’s finest eateries pic.twitter.com/KYyIrMq9An
— Shane Emery (@Shame_Memory_) February 5, 2024
europeans landing in newark, new jersey for the world cup final pic.twitter.com/WbPbVFKPXc
— chris✌🏼 (@sonohedman) February 4, 2024
The 2026 World Cup Final will be held in New Jersey pic.twitter.com/Ir4pPxFGqM
— Richie Assaly (@rdassaly) February 4, 2024
We may be 896 days out, but if you are reading this, your NJ Transit train departing the World Cup final at MetLife is *already* delayed https://t.co/JEz7zAIw67
— Ella Brockway (@ellabrockway) February 4, 2024
Let’s bring the most expensive ACLs on the planet to met life. Brilliant. https://t.co/6ek9oel9F8
— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) February 4, 2024
Do people not realize that tens of thousands of people who attend World Cup matches aren’t from the host country and don’t have a car? Is the expectation that Enterprise will rent out 10,000 cars in each city to get to a transit-less stadium? https://t.co/FtgIxs3mCj
— Hayden Clarkin (@the_transit_guy) February 4, 2024
Rio, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Buenos Aires…. and East Rutherford New Jersey pic.twitter.com/rSqw5cmS5R
— Nico (@nicodegallo) February 4, 2024