2026 World Cup final slated for midday start, despite Club World Cup weather concerns

These next two weeks at MetLife Stadium, beginning with FIFA Club World Cup’s last quarterfinal match on Saturday, will serve as a critical dry run for the New Jersey-based venue as it prepares to host eight matches at the men’s World Cup next year – including the final.

As he has been throughout, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy will continue to be there to take it all in. He was there for the stadium’s opening clash between Palmeiras and FC Porto two weeks ago, all the way through the fourth match, a chaotic 4-4 draw between Porto and Al Ahly. Like fans, Gov. Murphy withstood scorching temperatures during June’s dangerous heat wave and waited through scattered thunderstorms that suspended the fixture between Al Ahly and Palmeiras for 30 minutes.

Concerns over playing through summer weather conditions have become a lightning rod of a topic during the Club World Cup, with start-time discourse and U.S. meteorology now an unavoidable part of the competition. Fans globally are growing familiar with just how catastrophic American summers can be. In New Jersey, specifically, that’s come in the form of extreme heat and scattered thunderstorms.

The heat is least bearable during midday and early afternoon hours, which is when several matches for the Club World Cup were scheduled – including the quarterfinal, both semifinals and final at MetLife. Football’s global players union FIFPRO has urged FIFA to abandon plans for midday and afternoon kickoffs to avoid the heat in three “extremely high risk” venues at the World Cup next year (Kansas City, Miami and Monterrey in Mexico). The union labeled MetLife as being a “high risk” location.

The union said it made presentations to FIFA about kickoff times, but the union’s leadership fears “commercial interests,” driven by a pressure to satisfy a huge global TV audience – particularly in Europe and Asia – will hold sway in some cases, as The Athletic reported.

To that end, Murphy indicated that, as of now, the plan is for a 2026 World Cup final that begins with a 3 p.m. ET kickoff.

“I don’t want to speak for FIFA, and obviously they call the shots, but I think they’re circling in and around 3 p.m. New Jersey time for the World Cup final on July 19,” Murphy told The Athletic by phone on Tuesday.

The Athletic understands that the time for next year’s final is not yet set in stone, and a review of lessons learned from the Club World Cup is still pending. A 3 p.m. start time, however, falls in line with the last four games of the Club World Cup at MetLife. Saturday’s quarterfinal between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund features a 4 p.m. kickoff. The semifinals and final are slated for 3 p.m. starts.

To adapt to the extreme heat, FIFA has implemented some rules, including hydration breaks during games. Some teams have directed their bench players to watch games from inside locker rooms. Players have also regularly been seen with cooling or ice towels draped over their heads.

Murphy said he “feels like a meteorologist,” constantly checking the weather over the course of this tournament. As of Tuesday evening, the local forecast for Saturday calls for a high of 85 degrees, with temperatures peaking between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

“Heat has been a concern across the tournament, no question about it,” Murphy said. “I think we’ve managed it very well in New Jersey. … It goes with the territory if you’re in North America in early to mid-summer, playing a lot of late afternoon (and) early evening matches. It’s a factor, but I’m highly confident we’ll find our way through this.”

These final games, as Murphy told The Athletic, will likely mirror what’s in store for next year. Larger crowds are expected, compared to the relatively sparse turnout for the first four games there, another crucial test for the city’s infrastructure as organizers finalize their transportation plan with FIFA for 2026.

Crowds at MetLife for the first half of this tournament have floated around half-capacity. It’s expected that these final games in New Jersey will draw more fans, so long as fans are not deterred by ticket pricing. As of Tuesday evening, tickets for Saturday’s quarterfinal – before Real Madrid’s opponent was known – were starting at $128.25, before taxes and fees. (Once Dortmund punched its ticket to the next round, that price point dipped slightly to $107.05.)

While weather discourse remains ongoing, for the “final four” matches at MetLife, as Murphy calls them, he will be focusing on transportation, safety and security and the fan experience. The latter, he says, has been better than he’s ever witnessed at the venue – which is saying a lot, even if an exaggeration. It speaks to the fans that have been fueling this tournament, and why FIFA has been such a staunch advocate of the expanded club competition.

“I go to games of one sort or another at MetLife year-round practically,” Murphy said. “And I’ve never heard such noise. The spirit has been extraordinary.”

“We always wanted to play a major role in this Club World Cup,” he added. “We let that be known to (FIFA) president (Gianni) Infantino and all the FIFA folks, right from the get-go.”

(Top photo: Al Bello/Getty Images)