World Cup 2026 final set for MetLife Stadium on July 19 with record short gap since Qatar

The World Cup 2026 final is scheduled for Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with kick-off set for 3:00pm Eastern time. The match will be the 104th of the expanded tournament and the eighth World Cup 2026 fixture played at the venue.

MetLife Stadium — operating under the FIFA commercial name New York New Jersey Stadium — is the home of the NFL’s New York Jets and New York Giants. Its selection makes the New York area the third CONCACAF city to host a World Cup final, following Mexico City (1970 and 1986, at the Estadio Azteca) and Pasadena, California, where the Rose Bowl staged the 1994 final between Brazil and Italy.

Because the previous World Cup in Qatar was played mid-season in December 2022, the gap between finals will be just 1,309 days — the shortest in the competition’s 96-year history. Argentina lifted the trophy in Qatar on December 18, 2022, claiming their third World Cup title.

The final will carry one notable logistical quirk: FIFA and the United States organisers have agreed to an extended half-time interval to accommodate a pop concert, making it the longest half-time break in World Cup final history. Four of MetLife’s five group stage matches at this tournament featured at least one previous World Cup winner, underlining the stadium’s prominence in the competition’s schedule.

The Estadio Azteca, which hosted the 1970 and 1986 finals, is also in use at World Cup 2026 as part of the three-nation co-hosted tournament spanning the United States, Canada, and Mexico.