Sixteen stadiums in Mexico, Canada and the United States will stage the games during the first 48-team World Cup. RFI looks at the venues to be used between 11 June and 19 July.
Home to the Miami Dolphins American football team, the Hard Rock Stadium, some 20km from downtown Miami, also hosts the Miami Open tennis tournament and Formul…
Home to the Miami Dolphins American football team, the Hard Rock Stadium, some 20km from downtown Miami, also hosts the Miami Open tennis tournament and Formula 1's Miami Grand Prix.
Nearly four years on from the 2022 edition in Qatar, the Hard Rock Stadium will stage seven matches during the 2026 tournament, including the third-place play-off on 18 July between the beaten semi-finalists.
Saudi Arabia against Uruguay kicked off the show on 15 June in their Group H opener. The South Americans return six days later to take on World Cup debutants Cape Verde.
A Group C fixture follows on 24 June between Scotland and Brazil. Colombia and Portugal conclude their Group K campaign at the stadium on 27 June before the knockout stage gets under way.
The round of 32 match on 3 July pits the Group J winner — Argentina, Austria, Algeria or Jordan — against the Group H runners-up, from a group that also includes Spain.
Stadium named after Dolphins founder
Opened in 1987 and named after Joe Robbie, the founder of the Miami Dolphins, the stadium has carried several names over the years, including Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Stadium and Sun Life Stadium, before becoming the Hard Rock in 2016.
During the World Cup it will be known as Miami Stadium, with a capacity of around 65,000.
Unlike several other American football stadiums being used during the tournament, the Hard Rock Stadium has a natural grass surface, meaning the pitch will not need to be relaid — a process that can require the removal of pitch-side hospitality suites.
Once the World Cup concludes, the stadium will return to its regular programme of American football, concerts, tennis and Formula 1.
"The Hard Rock Stadium is a beautiful venue," tennis world number one Aryna Sabalenka told Fifa.com. "It's an amazing place for a World Cup. For me, playing tennis here is incredible, it's so big, beautiful. I think it's a good place for a World Cup."
