Despite the despair felt by soccer fans everywhere when the U.S. Men's National Soccer team did not make the cut for the World Cup this year, there is a silver lining for U.S. Soccer in an otherwise disappointing time. Announced on Wednesday, June 13th, the United States, along with Canada and Mexico, will host the 2026 World Cup in the first ever "united bid."
Never before have three countries on a continent shared the responsibility of hosting the World's largest sporting event, especially three countries that are somewhat at odds politically at the moment. This unified bid proves that these countries are willing to put aside their obvious differences for the love of the game.
This World Cup will be the first to host 48 teams rather than the normal 32, in 23 stadiums across 16 cities. Holding matches across all three countries, Canada and Mexico will each host 10 games, and the United States will hold the most with 60, with the final taking place in East Rutherford, NJ in MetLife stadium.
As a lifelong soccer fan, this news is quite possibly one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Not only will games be taking place in close proximity to me, but the FINAL of the BIGGEST SPORTING EVENT IN THE WORLD is taking place in my very own home state. This is a soccer fan's dream in real life.
After my life of watching the World Cup from my couch, I will finally get to experience it live and in person, (hopefully) cheering the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team to victory (or at least out of the group stages). So even though we will miss out on watching the U.S. team compete this summer, there is a lot of hope for the future of the U.S. Soccer team and federation.
The countdown to summer 2026 starts now (and only eight years to go)!
