From Pasadena to the Azteca: North America’s World Cup Comes Home

The 2026 tournament will make Mexico the first country to host three men’s World Cups, while Canada debuts as a host. Games will run from June 11 to July 19, with an expanded format designed to add matches, markets, and television windows across the continent.

Soccer hadn’t yet gained the following it has today in the US the last time the World Cup was hosted in the country, in 1994. Across nine venues, from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to Foxboro Stadium outside Boston, the tournament drew 3.6 million spectators. Brazil lifted its fourth title after a tense, scoreless final against Italy decided on penalties at the Rose Bowl.

On the field, the US men’s national team exceeded expectations. The hosts ended with a draw against Switzerland, stunned heavily favored Colombia 2–1, and reached the round of 16 where they were handed a 1–0 loss to eventual champions Brazil on July 4 at Stanford Stadium. That run, combined with sold-out crowds in American football cathedrals like the Rose Bowl and Stanford, kickstarted modern soccer culture in the US. The country’s first professional league in a decade, Major League Soccer, officially started two years later in 1996.

Mexico’s World Cup story is older and louder, written largely inside Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca. In 1970, the country hosted a tournament remembered for Pelé’s Brazil and the “Game of the Century,” Italy’s 4–3 extra-time semifinal win over West Germany at the Azteca. Mexico’s own team reached the quarterfinals for the first time. Sixteen years later, Mexico stepped in again as host, and the same stadium staged Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” and “Goal of the Century” against England, plus Argentina’s win over West Germany in the final. Mexico again advanced to the quarterfinals, deepening the bond between the national team, the stadium, and the tournament.