On Sunday afternoon, FIFA announced the schedule for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the USA, Mexico and Canada. There has been a surprise announcement regarding the final arena, with fans having their doubts about the choice. So what made the decision to award MetLife Stadium the honour of hosting the final and is it the best possible venue?

"One of the worst NFL stadiums"

Such bitter words about MetLife Stadium can be read in a ranking by reporters covering the NFL in The Athletic. 13 reporters ranked it in the bottom five of the league. The money was not particularly well spent. It’s a boring stadium — which is something universally agreed on by both Giants and Jets fans, a rarity — both in look and feel. The food is poor. And it’s always a disaster exiting the stadium, especially for fans — and that gets even worse after concerts. There’s a mall nearby but otherwise it’s not exactly an exciting area, especially as the home base for two teams that are supposed to represent New York City, the study reads.

Fans have also criticised the decision to host the 2026 World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, given the lack of transport and unpredictable weather. One X user wrote: I love New York and New Jersey. Lived in Brooklyn for 50+ years. But I've been in MetLife Stadium. It is a generic venue without charm or any feeling of soccer history. Weather could be a negative factor too. The Rose Bowl lacks many comforts, but looks amazing. Another supporter wrote: People from all over the world are coming to this. And nobody wants to rent a car to drive to a distant exurb for the game.

© Matthew D. Britt (cc: by-nc-sa) | MetLife Stadium

With Giants and Jets fans calling MetLife Stadium an overpriced lunchbox, why has FIFA decided that it will host the World Cup final? There were rumours some time ago that federation president Gianni Infantino favoured New York, and it seems they were true. However, apart from the whim of the federation chief, the time zone also comes into play. In New York, the time difference with London is five hours. The other venues being considered to host the finals are 'away' from the British capital by six and eight hours.

MetLife Stadium's strong rivals crash out

In the aforementioned ranking by The Athletic, where MetLife Stadium ranked 25th, AT&T Stadium came in 4th and SoFi Stadium in 2nd, it was these 2 venues that lost the race for the World Cup final. Until the last minute, the favourite to receive this prestige seemed to be the one located in Arlington, Texas. Subsequent sources reported that it was the Cowboys arena where the World Cup would be held. However, the reality turned out to be quite different. NFL fans make no secret of their surprise - according to quite a few of them, FIFA's choice is wrong.

Despite the fact that SoFi Stadium will host the first match of the World Cup in the USA, and AT&T Stadium will host the most matches - as many as nine - fans of these venues may feel disappointed. At the end of the day, it is MetLife Stadium, surrounded by acres of car parks, that will host the most important football match of the year. Meanwhile, FIFA has more than two years to pray for no rain in New York on July 19, 2026...

© Grzegorz Kaliciak | AT&T Stadium