World Cup 2026 schedule live updates: Time and location of every game at next summer’s tournament revealed

There was extreme heat and scattered thunderstorms during the Club World Cup, sparking fears of similarly tricky weather conditions for players at next summer’s World Cup too.

Football’s global players union FIFPRO urged world football’s governing body FIFA to abandon plans for midday and afternoon kickoffs to avoid the heat.

They were thinking of three specific high-risk venues (Kansas City, Miami and Monterrey) but they also labelled MetLife in New York/New Jersey, the site of the final, a high-risk location.

They feared “commercial interests,” driven by a pressure to satisfy a huge global TV audience – particularly in Europe and Asia – would hold sway.

The final was just announced at 3pm ET at MetLife.