World Cup Final Tickets See Massive Price Increases

Tickets for the 2026 World Cup final have soared in price following a glitch-hampered reopening of sales on Wednesday. FIFA’s category 2 tickets for the July 19 game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, now cost $7,380, up from $5,575.

Dynamic Pricing and Ticket Availability

Category 3 tickets for the final have also seen a significant increase, rising to $5,785 from $4,185. FIFA is employing dynamic pricing for the tournament, which will be hosted across 11 U.S. cities, three in Mexico, and two in Canada.

Group Stage and Opening Match Prices

As of Wednesday night, tickets were listed for 17 of the 72 group-stage matches. The highest-priced tickets, priced at $2,735, remained available for the U.S. opener against Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California – unchanged from December pricing.

Tickets for the tournament opener between Mexico and Saudi Arabia on June 11 in Mexico City were available for $2,985, up from $2,355 in December. Canada’s first game on June 12 against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto was priced at $2,240, an increase from $2,170.

Sales Issues and Ongoing Releases

Some users experienced issues during the “last-minute sales phase,” being redirected to a queue intended for supporters of nations that recently qualified. FIFA stated the links were functioning properly by noon and clarified that not all remaining tickets were immediately available.

Additional tickets will be released on a rolling basis throughout the tournament. This is the fifth phase of ticket sales, following previous presales and draws from September 2023 to February 2024.

New Seat Selection Option

This phase marks the first time fans can purchase specific seat locations, rather than requesting tickets within a category. Previously, tickets were priced between $140 and $8,680 during the sales phase following the December draw.

Concerns Over Accessibility

Sixty-nine Democratic members of Congress expressed concerns in a March 10 letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, stating that dynamic pricing makes the 2026 World Cup the most financially exclusionary to date. FIFA has also committed to making $60 tickets available to each participating national federation for their most loyal supporters.

Recent Qualifying and Resale Market

Bosnia-Herzegovina, Congo, the Czech Republic, Iraq, Sweden, and Turkey completed the World Cup field. Fans of eliminated teams can resell previously purchased tickets. FIFA President Gianni Infantino noted the ticket demand was equivalent to “1,000 years of World Cups,” while fan groups have raised concerns about the rising costs of resold tickets and have filed complaints.