NOTE: This Blog is a modified version of my article initially intended for Hilton Grand Vacation Gateway Guide during FIFA World Cup 2026. It’s now published in this blog site as a post-tournament traveller’s perspective on accomodation and visit options during the key events of the World Cup.
Introduction To FIFA World Cup 2026
The FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of Soccer (or Futbol) that takes place every 4 years. This truly global event outshines The Olympics, Super Bowl or any other sporting event in viewership, attendance and revenue. Only 8 countries have won the event out of over 200 national teams in its entire history!
For 2026, the World Cup was jointly hosted by USA, Mexico and Canada and was the largest World Cup in size with 48 Teams. This gave North American residents a great opportunity to enjoy the global event by attending matches, fan experiences and watch parties across major cities all over the 3 host nations.
Given the high demand on hotels during the World Cup, Hilton resorts and hotels were a great asset for convenient accommodations for frequent traveller like us who use both the HGVMax and Hilton Honors programs for out of town stays. In this article, we provide some practical suggestions on effectively using these programs to explore World Cup venues across the USA, some of which we put to use while attending World Cup matches ourselves.
About the World Cup, Key Matches, Dates and Host Cities
Spain, France, Argentina and England were the pre-tournament favorites. Even with a few upsets, these 4 teams eventually made it to the semi-finals, which was the first time evere the top 4 ranked teams were the semifinalists! Soccer superstars representing their nations including Lionel Messi (Argentina), Mbappe and Dembele (France), Erling Halland (Norway), Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane (England) all scored many goals, contributing to the highest number of goals ever scored in the tournament history! Most of the important Knockout Matches were hosted in U.S. stadiums.
When selecting possible venues for us to visit, we further narrowed down our selection to below key locations due to their close proximity to HGV and Hilton facilities we were familiar with.
- New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium): 8 matches, including the July 19 Final.
- Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium): 8 matches, including a July 15 Semi-final.
- Miami (Hard Rock Stadium): 7 matches, including a July 11 Quarterfinal and the July 18 Third-Place match.
- Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium): 8 matches, including a July 10 Quarterfinal.
Planning for Attending FIFA World Cup Matches in the U.S. West Coast
SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California hosted several World Cup matches including matches played by the U.S. Men’s National Team. The atmosphere was electric with dozens of celebrity sightings in and outside the stadium, massive crowds and lots of fun watch parties around the city to celebrate the World Cup. A key match was the July 10th Quarter Final.
For a short stay of 1-2 days, we considered the Hilton Los Angeles Airport hotel and take advantage of our accrued Hilton Honors points from HGVMax membership. For a longer stay, we had 2 great HGV resort options within a few hours drive from the SoFi stadium where the matches take place. Of course, a longer stay also provides opportunities to visit all the great sites in L.A. such as the famous Hollywood Hills signage and a Studio Tour at the iconic Universal Studios.
A 2-hour drive south is the HGV Marbrisa Resort in Carlsbad, right next to Legoland California! This scenic location near the ocean is far from the busy L.A. and offers additional exploring opportunities around the San Diego area just an hour south.
A 4-hour drive or 30-min flight northeast of L.A. is Las Vegas where HGV offers multiple resorts in various settings. The HGV Elara offers a luxurious experience right on the Las Vegas center strip and a few minutes from the airport. The Hilton Vacation Club Desert Retreat offers a quieter experience a few miles outside the city center with easy access to popular attractions like the Hoover Dam, Red Rocks and Lake Mead national park.
Another West Coast city we considered was Seattle, Washington. The Lumen Field Stadium hosted a Round of 32 and a Round of 16 Knockout stage match as well as a key U.S. match where the host defeated Australia 2-0. We liked the Hilton Seattle Airport. This location offers a free shuttle to the airport and I can personally vouch for their great breakfast and brunch options! The atmosphere was fantastic in Seattle with many fan events right by the Pier and the whole city including the Airport welcoming visitors from all over the World!
Planning for Attending FIFA World Cup Events in the U.S. East Coast
MetLife Stadium in New York/New Jersey hosted 8 World Cup matches including the final! While there are no nearby HGV resorts in this area, New York City offers a variety of Hilton Hotels at convenient locations such as the Hilton Garden Inn near JFK airport in Queens and Hampton Inn New York across from Laguardia Airport, both offering free shuttle to and from the airport. One consideration kept us away from this venue – due to the World Cup demands, public transit costs to the stadium from New York City increased significantly, in some cases 4-5 times higher than usual rate. Due to the higher level of knock out round matches here like Quarter Final and Final, the ticket price was also out of our reach.
Miami, Florida is known for its lovely beaches, cruising origin to nearby Caribbean locations and bayside attractions of celebrity properties. Miami Hard Rock Stadium was host to 7 FIFA World Cup matches including the crucial Quarter-Final where England defeated Norway and the 3rd place match between England and France that ended in a 6-4 victory for the Brits, a scoreline almost unheard of in a World Cup.
Driving into Miami is easy via the Florida Turnpike southbound but be aware of traffic congestion once you reach West Palm Beach all the way through Fort Lauderdale, Miami and South Beach. If flying into Miami, both Fort Lauderdale and Miami airport are good options.
The Hilton MacAlpine Ocean Plaza is an ideal HGV location in Miami’s South Beach located in a quiet area away from the busy Miami city center. Another great option is Crescent on South Beach, a Hilton Vacation Club. This historic boutique resort is located in the heart of the South Beach Historic District and is close to the white sand beaches and stunning blue waters of Miami Beach. It is also possible to attend the Miami matches from Orlando which offers many popular attractions. In such a case, an early morning 3-hour train ride (or drive) can bring you from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale station which offers connection to the stadium. Given Orlando’s abundance of HGV resorts like HGV Seaworld, Parc Soleil, Mystic Dunes and many more, this option was attractive to combine a World Cup experience with visiting many Orlando Theme Parks and other entertainment options.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (MBS) hosted 8 World Cup matches including the July 15 semi-final match. The stadium is located in downtown Atlanta and easily accessible via MARTA, the public train that connects the Airport, downtown and northern suburbs with many stops in between.
Atlanta offers a variety of Hotel options such as the Doubletree By Hilton Atlanta Airport that connects to the Airport shuttle loop, the luxurious Starling Atlanta Midtown(Curio Collection) next to the Botanical Garden, and the Embassy Suites Alpharetta in the northern suburbs away from busy downtown. For a longer stay, we recommend the Hilton Vacation Club Mill Springs Lodge in Pigeon Forge, about 3 hours drive north and near the popular national park at Great Smoky Mountains offering scenic views and outdoor activities.
A World Cup Match Experience
We attended the DR Congo vs Uzbekistan match at MBS on the last day of group stages. We were pleasantly surprised to find the festive atmosphere all over downtown Atlanta including the free “Fan Experience” center.
The tournament app notified us when early entry was activated. We took this opportunity to visit the Fan merchandise store inside MBS for some memorabilia like t-shirts and pins.
The pre-match show had a presenter cheering the crowd from both teams raising the decibel level of the entire stadium! Even in large NFL or MLS matches, I have never seen such enthusiastic loud crowds cheering so loud for their team even before the match!
Once the match started, the excitement around the stadium reached a new level. Even though both Uzbekistan and DR Congo are not even ranked in top-50 in soccer world rankings, the match itself was decisive due to the 8 best third-place teams in group matches advancing to play-offs. Uzbekistan, the lower ranked team, started with a defensive strategy with long-ball counter attacks that caused problems for DR Congo. By half-time Uzbekistan was up 1-0 and both countries looked to be going out of the tournament before the play-offs.
But DR Congo had that 12th player, the crowd all around us! The 70% of the stadium kept cheering them on. An amazing second half comeback saw Congo score 3 goals, each one making the stadium shake even more than I ever thought possible!! With the impressive 3-1 victory, Congo knocked out South Korea and qualified to the play-off match against the mighty England in Atlanta the following week!
Final Thoughts
The 2026 FIFA World Cup was the largest soccer World Cup in history in many aspects such as the number of matches, most attendance (over 7 million!), most revenue and most number of goals. Attending a match or related events of this historic tournament required some careful planning that involved finding the right accommodation. We hope the range of staying options we discussed here near key match events of the World Cup can serve as a guide for visitors to USA for future large scale events. After all, the 2028 Summer Olympics is not too far away!