The 2026 FIFA World Cup will officially kick off on Thursday, June 11, with the opening ceremony at Estadio Azteca, followed by the Group A match between Mexico and South Africa at the same venue. Despite the tournament’s imminent start, there are still ways for fans to secure tickets to matches.
The World Cup ticket sales process began in September 2025 and has gone through several phases since then. During those stages, fans from around the world were able to reserve seats for the matches they wanted to attend, resulting in sellouts for many games.
The presale phases officially ended on January 13, 2026. However, tickets are still available for certain matches. The only way to purchase them is through FIFA‘s official platform, the only legally authorized method for obtaining World Cup tickets.
How to buy tickets for the 2026 World Cup
Through FIFA’s official website, fans can access the platform used to purchase World Cup tickets. With the presale phases now complete, the only remaining option is the Last-Minute Sales Phase, which began on April 1 and will remain open through the end of the tournament on July 19.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino holds the FIFA World Cup trophy.
“Tickets will be allocated on a first come, first served basis, and purchases will be processed as real-time transactions, subject to availability,” FIFA explains on its official website. “All successfully purchased tickets will be confirmed immediately to the ticket purchasers.”
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This allows fans to find available seats for matches that have not yet sold out—typically those not involving the tournament’s top contenders. It also provides access to tickets for matches that were previously sold out but have become available because their owners are willing to resell or exchange them.
The 2026 World Cup will be the biggest in history
The 2026 World Cup will be the largest edition of the tournament since the competition was first held in 1930. The expanded 48-team format and the addition of a new round—the Round of 32—will increase the number of matches from 64, as was the case at Qatar 2022, to 104.
Combined with the fact that the tournament will be hosted across three countries for the first time, the expanded format will allow more fans to attend matches in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. On the other hand, ticket prices have also risen significantly for this edition, with some reaching as much as seven times the cost of comparable seats at Qatar 2022.
