SEATTLE — Seattle will host six matches in the 2026 World Cup, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announced on Sunday.
The United States men's national team will play at Lumen Field on June 19, 2026, in one of four group-stage matches hosted in Seattle. The other three group-stage matches will be on June 15, June 24 and June 26, 2026.
The 69,000-seat capacity venue nestled in Seattle's SODO neighborhood will also host two knockout matches on July 1 and July 6 for the expanded 48-team World Cup in 2026.
Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a tweet after the announcement "Seattle is counting down the days until we get to welcome soccer fans from around the globe for the FIFA World Cup! Excited to cheer on the United States men's national team and create a once-in-a-lifetime experience for fans, visitors, and residents."
Lumen Field will be one of 11 stadiums in the United States slated to host matches for the 2026 World Cup. Local officials said in a release Sunday afternoon they anticipate over two billion viewers will watch the Seattle matches.
“We’re thrilled to welcome FIFA World Cup 26 for six matches in Seattle, including the honor of hosting our US Men’s National team,” said Peter Tomozawa, CEO of SeattleFWC26. “We have a global opportunity to showcase the vibrancy of our city and state, and we are excited for game time!”
These will be the first World Cup matchups played in the Pacific Northwest since Portland hosted matches for the 1999 and 2003 Women's World Cups. The United States last hosted the men's World Cup in 1994.
Lumen Field, which hosts the Seahawks, Sounders and OL Reign during the year, will need to convert its artificial turf to grass suitable for World Cup matches before the prestigious tournament is expected to begin in June 2026.
The United States, Mexico and Canada will share hosting duties for the 2026 World Cup, the first-ever iteration of the tournament with three co-hosts. Sixty games will be played in the U.S., including every match after the quarterfinals when the field is limited to eight teams. Canada and Mexico will host 10 games each.
Seattle's World Cup bid has been in the making since 2015. Private and public sectors spent over seven years making the case that Seattle is worthy of hosting World Cup matches.
"We're talking about a global event," Markham McIntyre, interim director of Seattle's Office of Economic Development, said in 2022. "It's kind of like having a Super Bowl for each one of these games."
World Cup Seattle 2026 tickets
Tickets are not yet available for purchase for the 2026 World Cup. However, in January, FIFA announced fans could register their interest in tickets and sign up for ticket updates that will be sent to their email addresses. Fans can register here.