2026 World Cup Schedule Announced

After the 2026 World Cup, I bet you’ll see a bunch of Americans starting to follow the sport more and I predict it’s only a matter of time before it surpasses basketball in interest and popularity

Mike Howell
@MHowellTweets
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Good news is that the teams from around the world will have NY fanbases already thanks to the border crisis


Mayor Eric Adams
@NYCMayor
ANOTHER win for New York City and New Jersey — the world's game is coming to the world's biggest stage!

The FIFA World Cup 2026 FINAL is coming to town and we are ready to take the pitch. See you in '26!

#WeAreNYNJ #WeAre26 #FIFAWorldCup

So it’ll be the second most popular sport after football?

please move this thread to the pointless soccer board

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I think it will trail baseball but they definitely have some hurdles to overcome. I’ll be signing up for MLS Season Pass soon in order to follow the Houston Dynamo, once you figure the game out it truly is a beautiful sport.

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Nah, the World Cup isn't going to suddenly make MLS have better viewership numbers than MLB. Zero chance.

I'm sure it will get a bump in ratings, but the fact that Messi will likely retire immediately after the 26 World Cup, and there won't be many American players from the 26 World Cup squad that play in MLS, there really won't be much connection between the two other than it being the same sport.

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Nah, the World Cup isn't going to suddenly make MLS have better viewership numbers than MLB. Zero chance. I'm sure it will get a bump in ratings, but the fact that Messi will likely retire immediately after the 26 World Cup, and there won't be many American players from the 26 World Cup squad that play in MLS, there really won't be much connection between the two other than it being the same sport.

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I’m not talking about MLS though. The league is basically the CFL compared to the English premier league (NFL). I expect the premier league popularity to go through the roof

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Houston will host 5 group stage games, 1 round of 32, and one round of 16 Atlanta will host 5 group stage games, 1 round of 32, 1 round of 16, and one of the two semifinal games Dallas will host 5 group stage games, 2 round of 32, 1 round of 16, and one of the two semifinal games

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Thanks mayors from Morrison to Cantrell

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MLS won't be an elite league any time soon, but the quality of play is decent, and it's a great time going to matches.

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It will never be an elite league, because Champions League will always be the goal for every aspiring player. So anyone with talent in the states will look to make the jump overseas to see how they stack up over there.

Don't get me wrong, going to an MLS match is fun, as is the case with many sporting events, but the quality isn't close to what we will be watching for the World Cup.

Where MLS is finally doing a good job is with its youth academies where you are seeing a lot of talent getting ID'd and properly trained at a young age, before graduating to the first team clubs and if they continue to progress, they'll make the jump overseas before they turn 20. Some recent examples of current USMNT players that have followed that path are Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Ricardo Pepi, Joe Scally and that is only the tip of the iceberg.

That should be the role MLS plays for the USMNT going forward, giving these players their start stateside. If we have a bunch of guys on the USMNT 26 World Cup squad between the ages of 24-29 that are playing in MLS, we messed up.

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USMNT will always sell out qualifying games from here on out (as they have for years).

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They have not been selling out qualifiers. I went to the one at Nissan Stadium in Nashville this past cycle and it was a good crowd, but not sold out even with the upper decks closed.

Now the one in Orlando against Panama, that was a fun arse environment.

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Also one round of 16 game will take place in Philly on July 4th 2026. Setting up a potential US vs England game on the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence

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