After more than a year of speculation, the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final will officially be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and not AT&T Stadium, the soccer governing body announced on Sunday.
The home of the Dallas Cowboys had been one of the favorites to land the crown jewel of the world's quadrennial sporting event ever since FIFA announced in 2022 that the DFW Metroplex would be one of the 16 North American cities that would host the tournament's 104 matches, but it lost out to MetLife Stadium, the home of the New York Giants and Jets.
AT&T Stadium was selected to host one of the two semifinal matches, while Mercedez Benz Stadium in Atlanta will host the other.
The news that AT&T Stadium was not selected to host the final comes as a shocking surprise, as multiple reports have leaked over the last two years that Arlington would host the final, including one last month from 'The Sun,' a British tabloid newspaper based in London.
It wasn't a complete loss for the Metroplex, as FIFA announced that AT&T Stadium will host more matches than any of the 16 host cities, as nine of the matches will be held at AT&T Stadium, including the semifinal.
The five group stage matches will take place on June 14, 17, 22, 25, and 27, while the two Round of 32 matches will be held on June 30 and July 3. The Round of 16 matchup will be held on July 6 and the semifinal will take place on July 14.
FIFA also unveiled where the United States Men's National Team will play their three group stage matches, with SoFi Stadium hosting the US twice.
The USMNT will open the tournament in Inglewood on June 12 before heading up the coast for their second matchup at Lumen Field in Seattle on June 19. They'll wrap up the group stage in Inglewood on June 25.
Additionally, FIFA announced that Mexico will participate in the tournament's opening matchup on June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Other marquee games announced Sunday include:
The Four quarterfinals will be held in Boston, Kansas City, Los Angeles and Miami. The third place game will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.