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FIFA World Cup 2026 Travel Guide

Los Angeles opens the US matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026 by hosting the country’s first match on June 12. SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will be one of the busiest venues in the competition with eight matches on the schedule, including two group-stage appearances by the US men’s national team, a pair of knockout rounds, and a quarter-final. The LA Host Committee has tapped Snoop Dogg as Community Chairman and named Cobi Jones, Eva Longoria, Magic Johnson, and Will Ferrell among its Community Ambassadors.

Its location near LAX, accessible via the Metro C or K lines and adjacent to the I-405 and I-105 freeways, makes it one of the more reachable venues on the tournament circuit. And that ease of access extends to accommodations, with well-connected neighborhoods like Downtown LA, Culver City, and the South Bay offering a range of hotels and direct transit routes to the stadium. LA is hosting eight matches in 2026 and tickets are in high demand.

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• About SoFi Stadium
• Tickets and matches
• Getting to LA
• Getting around during the World Cup
• Details on the FIFA Fan Zone
• Hotels, soccer bars, and what else to do
• More about LA

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Venue: SoFi Stadium

SoFi Stadium in Inglewood is an indoor-outdoor venue with a translucent ETFE roof and open sides — designed to feel covered and ventilated at the same time. To clear the FAA’s flight-path restrictions from LAX three miles away, the entire bowl was dug 100 feet into the ground. Its signature feature is the Infinity Screen: a 70,000-square-foot, dual-sided 4K video board suspended above the field. It’s home to both the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers of the NFL and seats about 70,000, though it can be expanded for big events. At roughly $5.5 billion, SoFi held the title of most expensive stadium ever built when it opened in 2020, though it seems to be paying off: it already hosted Super Bowl LVI and will host the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Under FIFA’s policy against commercial venue names, SoFi will be branded “Los Angeles Stadium” for the duration of the tournament.

Concessions go beyond standard stadium fare with California-inspired bites like LA street dogs, sliders, and al pastor tortas — plus plenty of bars with great views of the action on the field.

The LA World Cup schedule

• Friday, June 12: Group D — USA vs Paraguay
• Monday, June 15: Group G — Iran vs New Zealand
• Thursday, June 18: Group B — Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Sunday, June 21: Group G — Belgium vs Iran
• Thursday, June 25: Group D, Match 59 — USA vs Türkiye
• Sunday, June 28: Round of 32 — Runner-up Group A vs Runner-up Group B
• Thursday, July 2: Round of 32 — Winner Group H vs Runner-up Group J
• Friday, July 10: Quarterfinal — Winner Match 93 vs Winner Match 94

Tickets are now sold first-come, first-served at FIFA.com/tickets, and the window stays open through the final on July 19. FIFA uses dynamic pricing, so prices fluctuate; check the official site for current rates and seat availability. Hospitality packages, which guarantee specific matches, are sold through On Location.

How to get to LA

For anyone coming from Asia, Australia, or elsewhere on the West Coast, LA will be one of the easiest cities to reach. You’ll fly into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), one of the busiest airports in the US.

You can also arrive in the city by train. Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner route runs between San Luis Obispo to the north and San Diego to the south, stopping at LA’s Union Station. From there, you can take Metro or Metro buses to almost anywhere in the city you’d like to go.

Getting around town during the World Cup

You have a few options for the best way to reach SoFi Stadium from downtown Los Angeles, depending on whether you value speed or cost. Driving from downtown LA to Inglewood typically runs 25 to 40 minutes — but on match days, budget plenty of extra time for the crowds. SoFi Stadium does allow you to reserve a parking space in advance, which is advisable during popular events like the World Cup. Rideshare services like Uber or Lyft operate in designated zones near Kareem Court and Pincay Drive.

If you’d prefer public transportation, take the Metro C Line or K Line to the LAX/Metro Transit Center Station, then board the free SoFi Stadium Shuttle, which operates on event days and drops off near the stadium entrance. The LA World Cup Committee and LA Metro have a World Cup travel website that will have travel options, routes, and details for each game. The city also has a useful guide to public transportation that answers all the questions visitors could possibly have about seeing the city without a car. You can also take the Metro Bus (Line 117), which stops about a 10-minute walk from the stadium.

The official LA FIFA Fan Zone

Los Angeles will have one anchor FIFA Fan Festival plus nine neighborhood fan zones across the region. The Fan Festival itself takes over the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from June 11 to 14 — note that this is a ticketed event, with general admission starting at $10 (children 12 and under free with a reserved ticket). Tickets are sold through Ticketmaster. Inside, expect live match broadcasts on giant screens, performance stages, interactive soccer activations, and food reflecting LA’s international communities. The Coliseum sits in Exposition Park, accessible via Metro’s E (Expo) Line at either Expo Park/USC or Expo/Vermont stations.

But that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to watch the rest of the matches if you’re in LA. The host committee is staging multiple fan zones throughout the city in specific neighborhoods so people don’t have to travel to one central site. Confirmed locations include the Original Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax, Union Station and LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes (“Heart of the City”), Venice Beach, Magic Johnson Park in South LA, Hansen Dam Lake in the Valley, Whittier Narrows in the San Gabriel Valley, Fairplex in Pomona, and West Harbor at the Port of Los Angeles. Each site runs only on certain dates during the tournament and will have specific programming that reflects that area’s character.

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