WASHINGTON — Iran, New Zealand, Switzerland, Belgium and the winner of the March playoffs involving Wales, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Italy and Northern Ireland will join the United States in the game. World Cup group stage matches at Sofi Stadium next June. Inglewood Stadium will host eight World Cup games over 28 days, starting on The first match in the USA against Paraguay will take place on June 12..
the tournament starts on June 11 in Mexico City Mexico will face South Africa in a rematch of the inaugural 2010 tournament in South Africa. It will conclude on July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with the finals beginning at 3:00 pm ET.
The schedule for the biggest and toughest world championship in history was announced Saturday at the Hilton Capital in Washington, and it's not kind to Southern California businesses hoping to cash in on the tournament. Of the five group stage matches, two will feature Iran, whose citizens have been banned from entering the United States by the Trump administration. Although Southern California has the largest concentration of Iranians outside of Iran, these fans will not book flights or stay in hotels, dampening the economic impact on the region.
Following the USA-Paraguay game, SoFi will host two Group G matches featuring Iran against New Zealand on June 15 and Iran-Belgium on June 21. Meanwhile, Switzerland will face the winner of the European play-offs on June 15. The U.S. will then return to Inglewood on June 25 to face the winner of a March playoff involving Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey and Romania.
In addition to the five first-round games, SoFi will host three playoff games — two in the round of 16 and one in the quarterfinals. Among the most attractive teams that could play in Inglewood for the round of 16 are Mexico, South Korea, Canada, Spain, Austria and Algeria. Defending champion Argentina could also travel to Southern California in the second round if it fails in group play.
MetLife Stadium in New Jersey had perhaps the best schedule of any of the 16 World Cup venues. In addition to the final, the stadium will host group games with the participation of Brazil, Germany, France and England.
Defending champion Argentina will play its first game in Kansas City before finishing the group stage in Dallas, while tournament favorite Spain will play its first two games in Atlanta and its final match in Guadalajara.
