In just 50 days, soccer fans from all over the world will pack MetLife Stadium for the first of several 2026 FIFA World Cup games.
Preparations for the World Cup in New Jersey have been underway for years. The state was announced as a host site in 2022, and then as the World Cup final host in 2024.
Ahead of the stadium's inaugural match, there are plenty of things North Jersey residents should know, from travel logistics to the tournament's projected economic impact, the Garden State's soccer history, local events, and more.
Here are 50 things to know about the World Cup at MetLife Stadium 50 days out.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will kick off in Mexico City Thursday, June 11.
The final match will take place on Sunday, July 19 at MetLife Stadium.
The first World Cup game at MetLife Stadium will take place June 13 as Brazil takes on Morocco.
A total of 104 matches will be played across 16 cities in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Other host cities include Vancouver, Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia.
MetLife Stadium will host eight World Cup matches, including the final.
The first part of the World Cup tournament is the group stage, which will feature 48 teams that have been split into 12 groups of four teams each.
Once the tournament starts, each team will play one game against each of the other teams in their group. At the end of the group stage, the top two teams in each group, plus the eight best third-place teams, will advance to the first knockout phase, a simple elimination bracket.
Group stage matches currently scheduled for MetLife Stadium include Brazil vs Morocco on June 13, France vs Senegal on June 16, Norway vs Senegal on June 22, Ecuador vs Germany on June 25, and Panama vs England on June 27.
Ahead of the World Cup, MetLife Stadium has officially taken on the temporary name of New York New Jersey Stadium.
To protect its own brands and the exclusive rights of its sponsors, FIFA has a long-standing policy in place that requires participating stadiums to scrub themselves of pre-existing branding during the World Cup.
While it may sound misleading, New York New Jersey Stadium, aka MetLife Stadium, is in fact located in the Garden State. The venue sits in the borough of East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The latest World Cup ticket drop took place April 22. However, FIFA said that it will continue to release additional tickets until the final match on July 19.
FIFA said that its website or FIFA.com/tickets is the “preferred source for FIFA World Cup 2026 tickets,” and recommends that fans check the site regularly for tickets and additional information.
World Cup tickets are available through multiple third-party resellers, though FIFA is encouraging fans to buy and sell tickets through its in-house resale/exchange marketplace.
Soccer fans around the world have been far from happy about the cost of tickets for the World Cup, which have been raised multiple times over the last several months as a result of dynamic pricing, according to The Athletic.
The original high-end price to attend the final match at MetLife was originally $6,730, which shocked fans, The Athletics reports. As of the beginning of April, it was $10,990.