The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off on Thursday, with matches across 11 stadiums in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada. Ticket prices have reached record levels due to dynamic pricing, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended the costs as fitting for the North American market. Here is the latest on ticket availability and prices.
Ticket Availability on the Eve of the Tournament
As of Wednesday, 29 matches were sold out, though wheelchair-accessible seats may still be available for some. A total of 75 games still had tickets remaining, including both semifinals, all four quarterfinals, five round of 16 matches, and 14 of 16 games in the new round of 32. Additional knockout-stage tickets will be released once teams advance to specific matches.
High-Priced Seats Remain
Many available tickets fall into the expensive category one and category two levels, which FIFA introduced in April. For the semifinal in Arlington, Texas, several hundred seats costing over $1,000 were available, while only about 20 tickets remained for the Atlanta semifinal on FIFA's official site.
Scarcity of Cheap Seats
Category three tickets, the lowest-priced tier, remained for just three matches. Two of those were already high-priced. For the US opener against Paraguay on Thursday in Inglewood, California, only two category three tickets were left at $1,120 each. Other available prices for that game ranged from $1,645 to $4,105. Canada's opener against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto had category three seats at $980, with other options at $1,645 and $2,240. The only match with $180 category three seats was Egypt vs Iran on June 26 in Seattle, where over 370 tickets remained at that price, along with seats at $550, $875, and $1,000.
Future Ticket Releases
Infantino stated that tickets will continue to become available as FIFA releases held-back seats and those returned by teams and sponsors. He noted that FIFA must keep tickets for teams that qualify for later rounds.
Resale Market Options
FIFA operates its own resale marketplace, charging a 15% fee to both buyers and sellers. Third-party sites like StubHub and SeatGeek also offer tickets. For the Paraguay-US game, FIFA resale prices started at $661.25, while SeatGeek listed tickets from $920. England vs Croatia on June 17 in Arlington, Texas, had starting prices of $880 on SeatGeek and $850 on FIFA. The July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, had tickets starting at $7,986 on SeatGeek, $8,775 on StubHub, and $9,085 on FIFA.
