Despite the 2026 World Cup being held in the United States, soccer fans in Central Ohio will have to travel hundreds of miles to see any of the games in person.
In addition to the games in the U.S., World Cup matches will be played at two stadiums in Canada and three in Mexico. The World Cup final will be held in East Rutherford, New Jersey at MetLife Stadium, the home of the NFL’s New York Jets and New York Giants.
The United States Men’s National Team plays its first game in the group stage on June 12 vs. Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and plays all three group games on the West Coast.
Find out below where the closest World Cup games are going on relative to Columbus.
What is the closest World Cup 2026 venue to Columbus?
See a list of the top five closest stadiums to Columbus, Ohio.
- BMO Field, Toronto, Canada: ~425 miles, around a 6.5-hour drive
- Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: ~475 miles, around a 7.5-hour drive
- MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey: ~530 miles, around an 8.5-hour drive
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia: ~560 miles, around an 8.5-hour drive
- Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri: ~650 miles, around a 10-hour drive
So, the closest World Cup venue to Columbus is not even in the United States. The closest venue is BMO Field in Toronto, Canada, the home field of MLS team Toronto FC.
The closest U.S. venue is Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, approximately 475 miles from Columbus.
Below is a schedule of the World Cup games hosted by the five venues above:
Group Stage:
Friday, June 12:
- Group B: Canada vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (Toronto), 3 p.m. ET
Saturday, June 13:
- Group C: Brazil vs. Morocco (East Rutherford, New Jersey), 6 p.m. ET
Sunday, June 14:
- Group E: Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador (Philadelphia), 7 p.m. ET
Tuesday, June 16:
- Group I: France vs. Senegal (East Rutherford, N.J.), 3 p.m. ET
- Group J: Argentina vs. Algeria (Kansas City, Mo.), 9 p.m. ET
Wednesday, June 17:
- Group L: Ghana vs. Panama (Toronto), 7 p.m. ET
Thursday, June 18:
- Group A: Czechia vs. South Africa (Atlanta), noon ET
Friday, June 19:
- Group C: Brazil vs. Haiti (Philadelphia), 8:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, June 20:
- Group E: Germany vs. Ivory Coast (Toronto), 4 p.m. ET
- Group E: Ecuador vs. Curaçao (Kansas City, Mo.), 8 p.m. ET
Sunday, June 21:
- Group H: Spain vs. Saudi Arabia (Atlanta), noon ET
Monday, June 22:
- Group I: France vs. Iraq (Philadelphia), 5 p.m. ET
- Group I: Norway vs. Senegal (East Rutherford, N.J.), 8 p.m. ET
Tuesday, June 23:
- Group L: Panama vs. Croatia (Toronto), 7 p.m. ET
Wednesday, June 24:
- Group C: Morocco vs. Haiti (Atlanta), 6 p.m. ET
Thursday, June 25:
- Group E: Ecuador vs. Germany (East Rutherford, N.J.), 4 p.m. ET
- Group E: Curacao vs. Ivory Coast (Philadelphia), 4 p.m. ET
- Group F: Tunisia vs. Netherlands (Kansas City, Mo.), 7 p.m. ET
Friday, June 26:
- Group I: Senegal vs. Iraq (Toronto), 3 p.m. ET
Saturday, June 27:
- Group L: Panama vs. England (East Rutherford, N.J.), 5 p.m. ET
- Group L: Croatia vs. Ghana (Philadelphia), 5 p.m. ET
- Group K: DR Congo vs. Uzbekistan (Atlanta Stadium), 7:30 p.m. ET
- Group J: Algeria vs. Austria (Kansas City, Mo.), 10 p.m. ET
Round of 32
Tuesday, June 30:
- Group I winners vs. Group C/D/F/G/H third place (East Rutherford, N.J.), 5 p.m. ET
Wednesday, July 1:
- Group L winners vs. Group E/H/I/J/K third place (Atlanta), noon ET
Thursday, July 2:
- Group K runners-up v. Group L runners-up (Toronto), 7 p.m. ET
Friday, July 3:
- Group K winners vs. Group D/E/I/J/L third place (Kansas City, Mo.), 9:30 p.m. ET
Round of 16
Saturday, July 4:
- Round of 16 match 2 (Philadelphia), 5 p.m. ET
Sunday, July 5:
- Round of 16 match 3 (East Rutherford, N.J.), 4 p.m. ET
Tuesday, July 7:
- Round of 16 match 7 (Atlanta), noon ET
Quarterfinals
Saturday, July 11:
- Quarterfinal 4: (Kansas City, Mo.), 9 p.m. ET
Semifinals
Wednesday, July 15:
- Semifinal 2: (Atlanta), 3 p.m. ET
Sunday, July 19:
- Final: (East Rutherford, N.J.), 3 p.m. ET
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Closest 2026 World Cup venues to Columbus Ohio
