Copa America - How much?

I am sure the FIFA machine will have everything sorted for the WC, it’s what they do well. Yes, hopefully the AW pool will be in the NorthEast. Vancouver and Seattle would be fabulous…..really cool area(not only the climate)
This current Argentina side are a phenomenon. They have only lost two games in the last five years( against Saudis at WC and Uruguay in WC qualifiers) In this time they have won four trophies, one WC, two Copas and the Finallissimo? against Italy. 
You could argue that this is all the Messi effect but if you look at the way they play and the make up of the team it’s more than just Messi. Their defense is phenomenal and they have lots of good options in midfield. But their biggest attribute IMO is their mental toughness. They are just so hard nosed the way they execute their matches. Even if Messi retires they will be still be a favorite for the next WC. Especially as many European sides will struggle with the heat and humidity.
Can’t wait for the Finallisimo? against Spain…..should be an excellent match.

Some of the travel for 2026 has the potential to be pretty crazy. Canada is fortunate in that we open in Toronto and then have two matches in Vancouver and could have our first knockout round match (should we get there) in Vancouver as well which would simplify so much. But with best third-place teams getting, it's very difficult to even guess where you could end up. There's no way to prepare. And unlike Qatar where I tried to get to a number of matches, I don't think I will go to anything beyond Canada's matches. The distances are just too great.

So many of the stadiums are difficult to get to. New Jersey is easy to get to, but wasn’t built to handle a huge volume of people using public transportation. I heard there were a lot of snags during Copa. Foxborough is an hour train ride outside of Boston and I don't know if it was built to handle a large volume of travelers. Kansas City, Dallas and I believe Santa Clara need to be driven to. I’ve heard Santa Clara can be a nightmare to get to (and the vast majority of the seats are directly under the sun. I don’t think of the Bay Area as being that hot, but apparently it can be an unpleasant day out.). 

 

The LA Coliseum is really easy to get to in LA by train. SoFi Stadium not so much. They have a train and then bus shuttle to the stadium, but the train is an east-west line that is south of the stadium. So from downtown you would have to take a train well past the stadium and then transfer... it's not very practical.

I’ve never been, but Philadelphia is at least on a metro line and close to downtown. Miami and Houston, I have no idea.

 

Seattle is great. Right near downtown, short walk from a ton of bars and restaurants, space for a fan festival near the stadium. It’s perfect. Same with Atlanta. Easy walk from downtown, near the Olympic park with tons of space for fans to gather and close to lots of food/drink options. Atlanta probably isn’t a place supporters would be hoping to be drawn to, but it would be high on my list for a lot of reasons. And having just gone to Copa, the weather in Atlanta and was significantly better than Orlando and Kansas City. 

 

Toronto is pretty easy to get to (particularly if you know the area, the street car from Union is a nightmare post-match, but there are smarter ways to go) and close enough to downtown. Vancouver is right downtown and in the middle of hotels/bars. Two of my favourite Canadian venues.

 

Two places I’ve never been to a match that were always on my list are Chicago and DC and neither are getting matches this time around. And one of the other best places in the US I’ve been to a match – Vegas – also somehow isn’t a venue. And yet we get KC and Santa Clara.

 

I am getting way ahead of myself, but now that this is the next significant thing on our calendar it’s starting to feel closer and more real.

Thanks for that good rundown of the WC setup. The USA is such a car culture that many stadiums are designed as drive up , not for public transport.This coming WC sounds like it could be a nightmare for many fans. With 48 teams there are going to be loads of games to get through. Many will have to be afternoon games in the full summer heat and humidity. Sounds like hell. I just hope NZ gets in Canada’s group and plays in the north.