Atlanta
Secretly one of the coolest cities in America, Atlanta has a huge music and arts scene, great BBQ and food-trucks, and a sport-mad public.
Home to the Falcons in the NFL, the Braves in baseball and the Hawks in the NHL, MLS outfit Atlanta United are the newest arrival have captured the public's imagination and support since joining the league in 2017.
Both the Falcons and United share the Mercedes Benz Stadium which will host eight World Cup matches, including five group stage games, a round of 32 match, a round of 16 match and a semi-final.
The stadium has an eye-catching aperture style roof that can be opened and closed in less than 10 minutes – particularly important in the hot and humid Georgia summer.
Boston
If Ireland do qualify for the World Cup, players and supporters alike will be hoping to get at least one game in Boston.
With a strong Irish identity that’s visible across all aspects of life in the city, Boston would be the ideal base for fans of the Boys in Green next summer – even if their side doesn’t make it.
Group C and Group I will both play two games in Boston, which will host seven matches in total and has both New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia within reasonable driving distance – reasonable by American standards at least.
Home of both the NFL’s New England Patriot and MLS outfit New England Revolution, Gilette Stadium saw a $225 million renovation project completed in 2023 and while it may not be as glittering as some of the other stadiums, it’s a wide-open roofless arena perfect for summer sport.
Dallas
All the cliches about everything being bigger in Texas persist, and the stunning AT&T Stadium, which will be known as the Dallas Stadium during the World Cup, lives up to that promise.
Home to the Dallas Cowboys, the stadium is built for spectacle and will host the most games of any venue at the tournament. Dallas will see nine matches in total, including four knockout games, one of which will be a semi-final.
Dallas, for those of a certain age, will always conjure up images of big oil, big Cadillacs and big 80s shoulder pads, but today it’s a thriving modern city with some of the largest and most prestigious art museums in the US. And if that’s a bit too high brow, there’s at least a couple of hundred JFK assassination tours daily.
Houston
The cooler and edgier younger brother of Dallas, Houston is the largest city in Texas and unusually for American cities, has excellent public transport links.
The MetroRail links downtown, the Museum District and NRG Stadium when five group games and two knockout stage match will be played. Unlike Dallas, where a car is pretty much essential you can get away without renting one here.
Home to the Houston Texan NFL team and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo – the biggest rodeo and livestock exhibition in the world since you’re asking – NRG Park was the first NFL stadium with a retractable roof and will hold just over 72,000 fans for each World Cup game.
Kansas City
Home of Mr Taylor Swift’s Kansas City Chiefs, Arrowhead Stadium will play host to six World Cup games, including a quarter-final.
A small but lively city with great night-life and some of the best BBQ food in the world, it’s a great spot for anyone looking for a bit of excitement after the football.
The Power & Light District is where the action will take place and is home to the Kansas City Live! entertainment area which is spread over a full city block and will be open during the World Cup as it is for every major sporting event – including a huge open-air watch party for the draw.
Arrowhead Stadium should also be a lively place to watch a match, as it holds the Guinness World Record for the loudest stadium, hitting 142.2 decibels in a NFL game between the Chiefs and the New England Patriots in 2014.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles looks to be using the World Cup as a dry-run for hosting the 2028 Olympics and while’s it’s a city well used to hosting big sport events, it’s not really one of the more appealing venues on the list.
A huge, sprawling, concrete jungle where driving is essential to get anywhere and traffic a genuine nightmare, anyone going to a match in LA might be better served by staying in nearby Santa Monica.
And forget the Town Town story that the city likes to tell. Hollywood is a dingy, grimy, run down mess where you’re far more likely to be hustled by someone wearing a super-hero costume looking for money rather than actually catch a glimpse of anyone who has been on TV.
The stadium at least is worth a visit. Built in 2020, the SoFi Stadium is home to the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers and will host eight games, including the USA’s opening match.
Miami
If LA is a host city that travelling fans might be hoping to avoid, there’ll be plenty keeping their fingers crossed that their team ends up in Miami.
Beautiful beaches, buzzing nightlife, great weather and a city that has developed a genuine love of soccer, helped in no small part by the arrival and success of Lionel Messi at MLS outfit Inter Miami.
Seven matches will be played at the 65,000 capacity Hard Rock Stadium – six group games and the third and fourth place play-off. Yes it’s a game that no-one wants to ever play in, but when you’re literally on the beach, it might take some of the edge off the disappointment.
New York
Giants Stadium, the place where Ray Houghton stunned Italy with his World Cup goal that beat the Italians in 1994, may be gone now but sitting on the same site is the new MetLife Stadium which will play host to eight World Cup games, including the final.
Ignoring the fact that the stadium is actually in New Jersey rather than New York, with fans being ferried in by NJ TRANSIT rail shuttles and dedicated Coach USA buses, it’s a stunning stadium and a worthy setting for a World Cup final.
New York meanwhile is one of the most visited cities in the world and offers everything a tourist could want. From sightseeing at Central Park, Times Square, and the Statue of Liberty to hipster spotting and micro-brewery tasting in Williamsburg, it’s the perfect spot to combine a holiday with the World Cup.
Philadelphia
The so-called birthplace of America where the declaration of independence and constitution were signed, Philadelphia was the original capital of the US and is home to a sports-mad populace.
Home of the Philadelphia Eagles (NFL), 76ers (NBA), Phillies (MLB), and Flyers (NHL), while the MLS outfit Philadelphia Union continue to grow and tickets for their games at the 18,000 capacity Subaru Park can be difficult to come by.
The Eagles home stadium of Lincoln Financial Field will play host to five group games and a round of 16 match and the 67,954 capacity stadium is just over three miles from the city centre where Fishtown offers lively nightlife and the Old City will have all the museums on America you could ever want.
Most importantly though Philadelphia is the home of the cheesesteak and while the tourists will all queue outside Pat's and Geno’s, Dalessandro’s and Uncle Gus’s inside the Reading Terminal are where the locals eat.
San Francisco
Celebrating it's 250th birthday this year, San Francisco will celebrate in a big way as Levi’s Stadium hosts six World Cup matches along with the Super Bowl.
Once the home of the 1960s counterculture movement and the mecca for hippies and beatniks alike, San Francisco is now the tech bro’ capital of the world and you’re far more likely to overhear conversations about start-ups and crypto holdings than peace, love and harmony.
Still there’s plenty to see and do in the city with the Bay Area in particular home to the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the trendy Fisherman’s Wharf, while the Mission may offer some of the best Mexican food north of the border.
Just watch out where you step. San Francisco continues to have a huge problem with both human and animal feces on the streets. Grim.
Seattle
For those of a certain age, Seattle will always be about flannel shirts, grunge, Kurt Cobain and Starbucks. The birthplace of grunge and the world's most ubiquitous and disappointing coffee chain, Seattle was the cultural centre of the world for a very brief period in the 90s.
These days Seattle remains a vibrant, thriving, walkable city with a lively arts scene and some of the best restaurants in America. It’s also a big sports city with both the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and MLS team the Sounders playing at Lumen Stadium.
Having hosted the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup proper and despite disappointing ticket sales in the early stages, Lumen Field drew crowds of over 50,000 for both of the Sounders group games.
The open-air venue is easy to get to with light-rail services and will host three group and three knock-out games.
Guadalajara
Widely regarded as the cultural heart of Mexico, Guadalajara is known as the home of both mariachi bands and tequila and really, what more do you need?
With warm but not sweltering weather and a big creative and artistic scene, Guadalajara is one of the more popular tourist destinations in the country while still feeling authentically and uniquely Mexican.
The 48,000 capacity Estadio Akron is home to Chivas of Liga MX and will host Mexico's second group game in what looks certain to be one of the early highlights of the tournament. A visually stunning ground that is built on raised ground and surrounded by slopped wall of grass, helping it to blend into the surrounding land.
Mexico City
A huge bustling metropolis of a city that's home to more that 22 million people, Mexico City has a long and storied history with the World Cup and is a fitting location for the opening match of the 2026 edition, with Mexico taking on an, as yet, unknown opposition.
This will be the third time that Estadio Azteca has hosted the opening game for a World Cup and it's the only place where both Pele and Maradona won the tournament, with Pele doing it for Brazil in 1970 and Maradona in 1986.
The city itself is steeped in history, from ancient Aztec ruins to the artistic Coyoacán district and the Frida Kahlo museum, so there's plenty of culture to soak up during the day as you recover from partying the night before.
Monterrey
Known as Mexico's commercial and business centre, Monterrey has experienced rapid growth in the last few decades, leading to infrastructure and urban planning issues along with a water crisis that officials are struggling to get to grips with.
Playing three group games and a round of 32 clash here is a bit of a gamble for organisers, but at least there's a great stadium in the Estatdio BBVA. Known locally as El Gigante de Acero, or the Steel Giant, the 53,529 capacity ground is set against a stunning backdrop of the nearby Cerra de la Silla mountain.
The weather will be a big factor for players and supporters alike however, with temperatures getting up to 45c in the summer and very little natural shade in the downtown area where big concrete offices dominate.
Toronto
Canada's largest city and arguably the nation’s cultural capital, Toronto is a great destination for travelling supporters and the perfect location to host Canada’s opening World Cup game.
BMO Field is located at Exhibition Place, a large public parkland complex close to the waterfront, which is the home stadium of both the Canadian national team and MLS side Toronto FC.
Recent redevelopment works to bring the stadium up to spec for the World Cup have taken the capacity up to 45,736 and with great transport links, getting in and out will be easy for anyone visiting.
Between games there’s a big local food scene with the city’s multicultural populace leading to some great places to eat. A tour between Italy, Greektown and Koreatown will have even the hungriest soul rolling back to their hotel.
Vancouver
Home to one of the most visually stunning stadiums anywhere in the world, Vancouver will host five group games and two knockout matches with two of those group clashes being home games for Canada.
The 54,000 seater BC Place sits on the waterfront at False Creek and has played host to the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics along with the final of the 2015 Women's World Cup.
A relatively small city with a population of just over 750,000, Vancouver is positioned right between the sea and the mountains and offers some great outdoors activities for those so inclined.
There's also a big indie music scene for people who prefer indoor excitement, along with some great places to eat - Gastown in particular offers some excellent restaurants at reasonable prices, while The West End has become a go to spot for Korean food.
Watch the draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Friday from 5pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on the RTÉ News App and on rte.ie/sport
