World Cup opening matches still have tickets, but hotel prices surge

The cheapest part of World Cup fandom may be the ticket. For the 2026 opener, that is leaving travelers to absorb hotel surges, airfare, ground transport, fees and premium packages that can turn a match into a four-figure trip before a seat is even scanned.

FIFA’s expanded tournament will run with 48 teams, 104 matches and 16 host cities across Canada, Mexico and the United States. It opens on Thursday, June 11, 2026, and closes with the final on Sunday, July 19, 2026, in New York/New Jersey. The opening match is set for Mexico City Stadium, better known as Estadio Azteca, with Mexico facing South Africa. Canada, Mexico and the United States will also stage their national-team openers in Toronto, Mexico City and Los Angeles, respectively.

Tickets are still available through FIFA’s official channels, including FIFA.com/tickets, FIFA.com/hospitality and Qatar Airways travel packages. FIFA opened its last-minute sales phase for additional general-public tickets on April 1, 2026, and official hospitality packages are being sold through On Location, with options that include single matches and private suites. For travelers needing visa help, FIFA has also promoted FIFA PASS to assist ticket holders and guests traveling to the United States with appointment scheduling.

The lodging market is already showing how quickly the total cost can rise. Mexico City hotel prices have reportedly jumped sharply ahead of the opener, with one cited room rate at the Hilton Mexico City Reforma rising from about $337 to $1,106 for the June 11 date. That kind of spike matters in a city that has more than 63,000 hotel rooms across nearly 800 hotels and where match-day occupancy forecasts have centered around roughly 85 percent.

Even so, the picture is not simply one of sold-out rooms. Some hotel groups in Mexico have warned that bookings are still softer than expected, leaving the city in a split market of high prices but uneven demand. The mismatch suggests that FIFA’s expanded field and 16-city footprint have not erased the scarcity that comes with a marquee opener at Estadio Azteca.

That stadium carries its own draw. It will become the first venue to host three FIFA World Cup opening matches, after doing so in 1970 and 1986. That history helps explain why demand is intense, and why fans are facing an increasingly familiar calculation: pay for premium hospitality, gamble on standard tickets, or accept that the real price of attendance is much higher than the face value printed on the ticket.