North American World Cup thrills as knockout round begins

A record 281,223 fans passed through turnstiles on June 16, and FIFA said the number helped push the North American World Cup into the knockout round with full stadiums, a passionate atmosphere and thrilling football. The previous daily mark, 277,070, had stood since June 28, 1994.

The 2026 tournament is the 23rd World Cup, the first to feature 48 teams and the first staged across three host countries, Canada, Mexico and the United States. FIFA set the schedule from June 11 to July 19, with 104 matches spread across 16 host cities, and confirmed a record 1,248 players in the final squad lists on June 2. That scale created the biggest field in tournament history, but the early crowds suggested the format had not diluted interest.

By FIFA’s count, more than 1.3 million supporters had already attended matches after six days of play, putting the tournament on course to challenge its all-time cumulative attendance record before the group stage ended. Gianni Infantino said the competition had started “in a very, very successful way” and had “gone beyond our expectations.” For a tournament that drew concern before kickoff about whether the vast geography and expanded field could hold attention, the first stretch answered with packed seats and noise instead of hesitation.

Mexico City Stadium opened the tournament on June 11 and became the first stadium to host three World Cup opening matches, a marker that gave the North American edition a direct link to the event’s history. The knockout bracket was finalized on December 6, 2025, long before the first ball was kicked, underlining how much more elaborate the route to the title had become in the 48-team format. As the elimination rounds began, the tournament’s biggest early test had already been passed in the stands as much as on the field.