MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
Minara Helen: Thousands of empty seats are expected across stadiums in the United States during the opening weeks of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with several group-stage matches still showing significant ticket availability just weeks before kick-off.
The tournament, which begins on June 11 and runs through July 19, will be the biggest World Cup in history, featuring 48 teams across 12 groups and 104 matches staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Under the expanded format, teams are split into groups A through L, with the top two sides in each group—along with the eight best third-place finishers—advancing to a newly introduced round of 32.
Despite the scale of the tournament, ticket demand has proven to be somewhat lackluster. According to a recent Newsweek report, resale prices for some matches have fallen dramatically, with at least one fixture dropping below $100 amid an underwhelming demand.
Experts have pointed to the high pricing of tickets as one of the main reasons sales are underperforming.
“FIFA priced tickets too high for all 104 games, complete disaster, and they will be forced to drop them all greatly in next 30+ days. A terrible overall ticketing distribution execution for the world’s biggest sporting tournament,” Ticket Talk host Scott Friedman previously told Newsweek. Tickets for the June 22 clash between Jordan and Algeria in San Francisco were listed from as low as $98 on secondary markets, while the average cheapest resale price across group-stage games still sits significantly higher, at around $559, according to analytics firm TicketData.
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