Christian Pulisic shouts out Miami as a 2026 World Cup host city

Bienvenido a Miami, Christian Pulisic

When it comes to the World Cup 2026 host city Christian Pulisic is most excited about, there’s only one word you need to know: Dalé!

Speaking to Fox Sports 1 after FIFA unveiled all of the host cities for the tournament on Thursday, the USMNT captain  shouted out Miami as a host city he was particularly looking forward to seeing.

“I think Miami is a really exciting one for me,” said Pulisic. “You know, my family is living down there now, and that’s going to be an amazing atmosphere for sure.”

Pulisic is a Pennsylvania native, so there were natural assumptions he would highlight Philadelphia. Unsurprisingly, though, Pulisic said he’s looking forward to “really, all of them. Just to be in this continent, it’s going to be special.”

Hard Rock Stadium, a 64,767-seat stadium that is normally home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and the Miami Hurricanes NCAA football team, is technically a few miles north of Miami proper, though that likely won’t make a difference to fans based locally or coming in from abroad to one of the U.S.’s most tourist-friendly cities.

The tournament coming to Miami will be a first. South Florida did not host any games during the 1994 men’s World Cup, with Florida’s games instead taking place in Orlando. The United States has hosted two women’s World Cups, but Miami was not part of either the 1999 or 2003 editions.

It has, however, hosted six Super Bowls, dozens of summer club and national team friendlies, and was for 14 years the home of Monster Jam, arguably the pinnacle of monster truck events.

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The full list of 2026 World Cup host cities and stadiums

11 U.S. cities were awarded the right to host matches, along with three from Mexico and two from Canada

The list is in! We now know which cities and venues will host matches for the 2026 World Cup that will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

In the end, 16 cities were awarded matches: 11 American cities, along with three from Mexico and two from Canada.

The tournament will be the first World Cup to feature 48 teams, meaning there will be 80 total matches.

Further information on scheduling, which cities will host which games and more will be forthcoming.

Washington D.C./Baltimore snubbed in World Cup 2026 bid

The nation’s capital had a troubled bid process that saw it forced to merge with Baltimore’s bid at the last moment

The combined bid of Washington D.C. and Baltimore was not selected to host matches in the 2026 World Cup, as the nation’s capital made some unwanted history on Thursday.

For only the the second time in men’s World Cup history, the capital of a host country will not host any matches.

The only other time a capital or surrounding area missed out was in 1974, when the West German capital of Bonn did not host a match.

The snub marks the end of a difficult bid process for Washington, D.C. The city first began as a standalone bid with FedEx Field in suburban Maryland as its venue.

However, due to a myriad of issues with the stadium, which is home to the NFL’s Commanders, Washington D.C. merged its bid with nearby Baltimore in April.

The joint bid would have seen matches played at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, while a fan festival and other activities would be held in Washington.