New York New Jersey Stadium: Everything You Need to Know Before Match Day

By WorldCup.NYC Editorial — May 21, 2026

The 2026 World Cup plays out across 16 cities and three countries, but one venue anchors the entire tournament: MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Known officially during the competition as New York New Jersey Stadium, it will host eight matches this summer — five in the group stage, a Round of 32, a Round of 16, and the Final on July 19. Here is everything you need to know before you go.

The Venue

MetLife Stadium opened in 2010, cost roughly $1.6 billion to build, and is privately owned by the NFL's New York Giants and New York Jets — an unusual arrangement that came with an exterior lighting system that turns blue for the Giants and green for the Jets depending on who's playing. For the World Cup, those colors will shift to reflect the nations on the pitch for each match.

The stadium holds approximately 82,500 fans and has already proven itself on the world stage. It hosted the 2016 Copa America Centenario final — the match where Lionel Messi missed a penalty in the shoot-out and briefly announced his international retirement — and most recently the 2025 Club World Cup final, when 81,118 fans watched Chelsea beat PSG. Super Bowl XLVIII, the first outdoor cold-weather Super Bowl, was also played here.

Under FIFA's branding rules, the MetLife name and signage will be replaced for the duration of the tournament. The same rules apply across all host venues — with the notable exception of Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The Pitch

MetLife normally uses synthetic turf for NFL play, but FIFA mandates natural grass for World Cup matches. A temporary natural grass system — Bermuda grass grown at a turf farm in North Carolina — is being transported in refrigerated trucks, laid in sections, and maintained by vacuum ventilation throughout the tournament. NFL field dimensions also differ from FIFA regulation size, so approximately 1,750 seats have been removed to accommodate the correct pitch dimensions. The stadium has no roof, so the grass and the fans are both fully exposed to the elements.

Upgrades for the Tournament

The stadium has undergone several significant improvements ahead of the World Cup: four new corner video boards, an upgraded audio system, enhanced 5G coverage and capacity, expanded media and broadcast infrastructure, and additional camera positions not used in standard NFL broadcasts. Concession areas have also been upgraded.

The Match Schedule

New York New Jersey Stadium hosts the following eight matches:

• June 13: Brazil vs. Morocco, 6 p.m. ET
• June 16: France vs. Senegal, 3 p.m. ET
• June 22: Norway vs. Senegal, 8 p.m. ET
• June 25: Ecuador vs. Germany, 4 p.m. ET
• June 27: Panama vs. England, 5 p.m. ET
• June 30: Round of 32, 5 p.m. ET
• July 5: Round of 16, 4 p.m. ET
• July 19: The Final, 3 p.m. ET

Tickets for all eight matches are available through Ticketmaster, the official ticketing partner for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

• Brazil vs. Morocco — June 13 →
• France vs. Senegal — June 16 →
• Norway vs. Senegal — June 22 →
• Ecuador vs. Germany — June 25 →
• Panama vs. England — June 27 →
• The Final — July 19 →

Getting There

The stadium sits roughly eight miles west of Midtown Manhattan in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Most fans will take NJ Transit from Penn Station — board in one of two designated zones, transfer at Secaucus Junction onto the dedicated Meadowlands Rail Service, and arrive directly at the stadium in about 30 minutes total. Round-trip rail tickets cost $98, down from the $150 initially announced following significant public backlash. Tickets must be purchased in advance for a specific time slot and require a valid match ticket. Fans can also board NJ Transit from Secaucus or Hoboken Terminal.

FIFA's official shuttle bus is a more affordable option at $20 round-trip, departing from Grand Central Station, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, a midtown location to be confirmed, and a park-and-ride in Clifton, New Jersey. The host committee expanded capacity by adding classic yellow school buses after initially committing to 10,000 seats. Rideshare pickup and drop-off is at the Meadowlands harness racing track, about a mile from the stadium entrance.

Driving is an option but a difficult one. No tailgating is permitted, parking on-site is limited to FIFA-designated premium spots near the American Dream mall, and the roads surrounding the stadium — Route 3, Route 17, and the New Jersey Turnpike — will be heavily congested before and after every match.

Weather

June and July in the New York area bring warm, humid conditions. Daytime temperatures typically run from the mid-70s to upper 80s Fahrenheit, with heatwaves occasionally pushing into the low 90s. The open-air stadium provides no shade for fans in upper tiers during afternoon matches — bring sunscreen and a hat. Summer thunderstorms can develop quickly and may cause delays; the Club World Cup last summer saw multiple weather stoppages at this same venue.

Plan for the Exit

Getting in takes time. Getting out takes more. A standard NFL game at MetLife is already known for long exit lines and traffic logjams, and the World Cup will add layers of complexity: limited parking, no tailgating, a crowd with far less familiarity with the stadium and its transit options, and match-day pedestrian volumes the venue hasn't seen before. Build extra time into every trip, in both directions.

Fan Zones Around the Region

You don't need a ticket to be part of the tournament. Free fan zones are operating in all five boroughs: Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, Brooklyn Bridge Park in Brooklyn, a shopping mall near Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, and a minor league baseball stadium on Staten Island. A paid fan event ($10 for adults, free for children 12 and under) is also running at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey — the home ground of the New York Red Bulls — where Brazil, Senegal, Morocco, and Haiti will be based during the group stage.

Note: the originally announced FIFA Fan Fest at Liberty State Park was cancelled in February 2026. Any resource still listing it as an active venue is out of date.