Everything you need to know about the World Cup ticket drop

Lionel Messi with the World Cup
(Image credit: Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)

FIFA has already sold more than a million tickets for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

In a second phase of World Cup ticketing, FIFA is gearing up to sell another million World Cup match tickets, starting with a new ticket draw that is now underway and will run for the rest of the week.

FourFourTwo has all the details you need to know about FIFA’s second phase of World Cup ticketing.

The new World Cup ticket sales phase has an exclusive time slot for host nations

FIFA president Gianni Infantino Residents of the United States, Canada and Mexico had access to a ‘domestic exclusive time slot’ offering an opportunity via the ballot to buy tickets for matches in their home nation.

“This second phase, with its host country domestic exclusivity time slot, will allow us to say ‘thank you’ to these local fans, while ensuring global opportunity as well,” said tournament chief Heimo Schirgi.

The exclusive time slot will be available to buyers randomly drawn from the ballot between November 12 and November 15.

World Cup 2026 mascots (Image credit: Image credit: FIFA)Who can buy World Cup tickets in the second phase and how does it work?While a degree of priority will be afforded to fans in the host countries, the overall draw is however available to fans from anywhere in the world.

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The draw will be open until Friday and will close before FIFA’s ‘randomised process’ selects fans in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Those fans will be notified of their exclusive time slots, which will allow them to buy tickets in exclusivity period next week, before eligible fans elsewhere will be able to buy their match tickets from November 17.

FIFA World Cup trophy (Image credit: Getty)“We already have seen massive interest from around the world for this tournament, and especially from within the host countries as Canada, Mexico and the United States prepare to host the biggest FIFA World Cup yet,” said Schirgi.

“During the previous phase of ticket sales, residents of the three host countries – the United States, Canada and Mexico, in that order – snapped up more tickets than anyone else,” FIFA announced.

“England, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Colombia, Argentina and France – in order of demand – rounded out the top ten countries in terms of ticket sales, as over one million tickets were purchased during the phase.”

The 2026 World Cup will take place in North and Central America next summer, starting with Mexico’s opener at the Azteca on June 11 and concluding with the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 19.