In its 94-year history, the FIFA World Cup final has never been held on America’s East Coast. But, come 2026, the World Cup Final will be under a 4-hour drive from the city, taking place at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. The turf stadium will even install a grass field in preparation for the final.
You can make a trip out of it and skip the drive altogether with an Amtrak ride from Boston to Manhattan and then commute to Jersey for game day. Who knows, maybe this 200 mile-per-hour bullet train will be running by then. Is it too early to book hotels for 2026?
In more great news, Gillette Stadium will host seven games during the soccer tournament, including the FIFA World Cup Quarterfinal! Find more info an everything FIFA 2026 below.
How many FIFA World Cup games will take place at Gillette Stadium?
Seven games in total are slated to take place at Foxboro’s Gillette Stadium. The current home of the New England Patriots and Major League Soccer team, New England Revolution.
When does the World Cup come to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro?
The schedule for the Gillette Stadium World Cup games includes five group stage games, and a second-round and quarterfinal game.
Group stage games at Gillette:
- Saturday, June 13, 2026
- Tuesday, June 16, 2026
- Friday, June 19, 2026
- Tuesday, June 23, 2026
- Friday, June 26, 2026
Second-round game at Gillette:
- Monday, June 29, 2026
World Cup Quarterfinal at Gillette:
- Thursday, July 9, 2026
When is the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
The world cup itself will begin on Thursday, June 11, 2026, and conclude on Sunday, July 19, 2026. The final will take place at MetLife Stadium.
Where else will the next World Cup be held?
This “North American” World Cup tour will take place at 16 stadiums across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Collectively, these stadiums will host 48 teams, the most in World Cup history.
It will be the biggest and most inclusive World Cup. Below are all participating stadiums:
Eastern US (Coast and South):
- Gillette Stadium; Foxboro, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal)
- MetLife Stadium; East Rutherford, New Jersey (Final)
- Lincoln Financial Field; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium; Atlanta, Georgia (Semifinal)
- Hard Rock Stadium; Miami, Florida (Quarterfinal)
Central US:
- AT&T Stadium; Dallas (Arlington), Texas (Semifinal)
- NRG Stadium; Houston, Texas
- Arrowhead Stadium; Kansas City, Kansas (Quarterfinal)
West Coast:
- SoFi Stadium; Los Angeles (Inglewood), California (Quarterfinal)
- Levi’s Stadium; San Franciso (Santa Clara), California
- Lumen Field; Seattle, Washington
Mexico:
- Estadio Azteca; Mexico City, Mexico
- Estadio BBVA; Monterrey, Mexico
- Estadio Akron; Guadalajara, Mexico
Canada:
- BMO Field; Toronto, Canada
- BC Place; Vancouver, Canada
When was the last World Cup at Gillette?
The last (and only other) time the FIFA World Cup came to Foxboro was 30-years-ago, in 1994. Six games were played at Gillette and the 1994 World Cup Final took place on the West Coast in Pasadena, California’s Rose Bowl stadium.
According to Gillette, the 2026 World Cup will be the 2026 games “will bring an estimated 450,000 visitors and projected economic impact of up to $500 million to Boston.”
When is the World Cup Final?
The 2026 final will be played on Sunday, July 19, 2026, at MetLife Stadium, according to FIFA. Find the full tournament schedule in the graphic below:
How to get from Boston to MetLife Stadium?
Lucky for Bostonians, the next World Cup final takes place within reasonable driving distance from Boston! Or, if you prefer, train or flight.
The drive is approximately 3 hours and 50 minutes from Boston to MetLife Stadium. Alternatively, you can take the Amtrak to Manhattan or Philadelphia from what should be by then a newly renovated South Station. Then you can rideshare, drive or take public transit to New Jersey.
The third option is to fly to Newark, JFK, or Laguardia airports and then determine if you prefer to rideshare or rely on public transit to get to the stadium. If you’re feeling really fancy, you can take this seaplane straight to Manhattan and skip airport traffic and security!
Hotels near MetLife Stadium
New Jersey’s Hampton Inn Carlstadt and Hilton Meadowlands offer shuttles to MetLife Stadium for $5 each way. They are among the closest hotels, both less than 0.7 miles from the stadium, but it is not apparent if they will offer this service during 2026 or an alternative option.