Inside the 2026 World Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup brought a level of excitement to the United States that felt unexpected considering the country has never been known for its soccer culture. Stadiums across the tournament reached a record-breaking 99.7 percent capacity, driven by American fans embracing the World Cup coming to their home. Hosting matches across major cities created moments of genuine passion for the sport, which I saw firsthand while attending two matches, revealing the highs and lows of the World Cup experience.

The U.S. vs. Australia game was one of many games played in front of a sold out crowd, even though the game lacked major stars. The fan festivities for the match began over two hours before kickoff, when 15,000 American fans met up at the Harbor Steps in downtown Seattle to march to the stadium. An early Australian own goal put the U.S. in the lead, and when American defender Alex Freeman scored the United States’ second goal, the broadcast cameras picked up on the stadium shaking beneath the feet of the celebrating crowd. The U.S. held onto its lead and came away with a 2-0 victory. But the best part of the day came after the final whistle. As the players walked around the pitch to thank the fans, the whole stadium, including the players, began to sing John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” This environment is why U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino has such an affection for the fans; in a post-match interview with Fox, Pochettino said, “Even if I am not American, after the game I was emotional because I think it was amazing. The fans were amazing.” 

 Conversely, the France vs. Senegal game was loaded with some of the best players in the world, but less notable fans. The 3:00 p.m. start time meant MetLife Stadium was packed almost entirely with families, except for a few thousand French fans whose chants still dominated the stadium. For many of the people around me, this match felt more like a family day out and a chance to see some of the world’s best players in action, rather than another chapter of a historic rivalry. Because of that, it didn’t seem to matter much who won or lost, which caused the game to lose some of the intensity that usually defines games between rivals. Yet, this game still produced some memorable moments, such as French forward Kylian Mbappé’s stoppage time goal that sent the stadium into a frenzy.

The two matches I went to showed how much the atmosphere at the World Cup could vary. One match was teeming with energy from the host fans; the other was more focused on families enjoying a thrilling game between world-class teams. But as unforgettable as these games were, many fans were plagued with issues centered around unreasonable pricing, poor transportation options, and long lines that undoubtedly affected their World Cup experience.

The 2026 World Cup was the first to use dynamic pricing, which led to face value prices for each group stage game ranging from $140 to almost $1000 depending on the game and the quality of the seats. However, many had to spend hundreds more dollars for tickets because of the spiked prices on the resale market. These prices don’t account for the cost of transportation to and from the stadium. In my experience, Lumen Field was easy and inexpensive to get to, only needing a quick $3 ride on the Link light rail to get to the Harbor Steps, where the “March to the Match” started. However, the trip from the city to MetLife stadium was long and overpriced. Tickets on the New Jersey Transit (NJT) train to the stadium were raised to $98 for the World Cup. In fact, these tickets were originally set at $150, as opposed to the typical price of $12.90, but after facing immense public backlash, NJT was forced to lower the price. To its credit, the agency did a great job of ensuring that everyone got to and from the stadium quickly and efficiently. Because MetLife Stadium had no fan parking available for security reasons, rail was essentially the only way in. By implementing extra service and creating diversion plans at Penn Station to handle it, NJT helped move up to 40,000 fans per match by rail across all eight games. Still, $98 for a trip that normally costs under $13 is hard to justify, and the gap between that and the $3 light rail ride in Seattle shows that the fans’ costs and resulting experience depended heavily on which host city they were in. 

The other major problem with World Cup match experience was the long lines when you reached the stadium. Even when arriving three hours early for the match at MetLife, it took over 45 minutes to get past security and into the stadium. The lines within the stadium were even worse. Lines for food and drinks took up to 30 minutes, and getting into the merchandise store meant waiting for more than an hour. Long waits and high costs certainly took away from the World Cup experience, causing many to wonder if the event was truly worth it.

Attending two matches made it clear why the World Cup is so popular. The electric atmosphere and elite fixtures are capable of creating lifelong memories. However, the negatives—pricing, transportation, and long lines—played an equally large role in shaping how fans experienced the whole event. Taken together, the 2026 FIFA World Cup demonstrated that a great event can still be embedded with issues that interfere with every fan’s experience. As soccer continues to grow in the United States, many of the problems from this World Cup will need to be addressed for the population to embrace the sport.