Canada Will Host 13 Games At 2026 FIFA World Cup

Summary:

• Toronto will host six games, with Vancouver staging seven matches
• Canada will play its first game on June 12 at Toronto’s BMO Field
• The 2026 FIFA World Cup final takes place at MetLife Stadium, New Jersey

Canada will kick off its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign on June 12 at the BMO Field in Toronto. The scheduled opening match involving the Canadian team marks the first of 13 games that will be hosted by the country as part of the 23rd edition of the world’s most prestigious association football tournament. It’s the first time that Canada is hosting the tournament following an unsuccessful bid in 1986.

The tournament’s schedule, released on February 4, includes a total of 104 games, with Mexico also hosting 13 games. The remaining 78 will take place in the US. It’s the first time in history that the tournament will be hosted by three nations and also the first to include 48 teams, expanded from 32. 

Toronto, Vancouver among Host Cities for 2026 FIFA World Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup officially begins on June 11, with Mexico slated for the opening match that will take place at the historic, 87,000-capacity Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. 

The Canadian team gets in on the action on June 12 at Toronto’s BMO Field which has an expanded capacity of 45,000. Vancouver will host Canada’s two other opening-round games scheduled for June 18 and 24 at B.C. Place Stadium. The venue offers a much bigger space, accommodating 54,000 spectators.

Toronto and Vancouver will each stage five opening-round games and a round-of-32 knockout game. Vancouver will also host a round-of-16 match. That means Canada will host a total of 13 games (six in Toronto and seven in Vancouver) out of the 104 planned out for this year’s tournament.

It’s the third time that the Canadian men’s national soccer team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup. The squad remains on the hunt for its first World Cup win or point after losing all of its matches in 2022 in Qatar as well as in 1986 in Mexico.

World Cup Final to Take Place at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium

The US will host a total of 78 games, including the tournament quarterfinals in Los Angeles, Kansas City, Boston and Miami, and the semifinals in Dallas and Atlanta.

America will also stage the final scheduled for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The US squad will have its first game on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.