NRG Stadium World Cup 2026: matches, capacity and how to get there

NRG Stadium in Houston, TX, the United States, is one of the 16 venues of the 2026 World Cup, hosting 7 matches. FIFA refers to it as Houston Stadium during the tournament for sponsorship reasons. It opened in 2003, holds about 72,220 for football, and in normal times is home to the NFL's Houston Texans.

The stadium is a retractable roof that can close against heat or rain. It was the NFL's first retractable-roof stadium, a design pioneer now echoed at several venues.

Several US venues normally play on artificial turf and will have natural grass installed specifically for the World Cup, so the surface fans see in 2026 may differ from a regular season game.

The nearest major airport is Houston (IAH). The METRORail red line connects downtown Houston with the stadium district. Whichever way you arrive, plan for heavy match-day demand and give yourself extra time through security.

On tickets and access, World Cup tickets are sold through FIFA's official channels, and re-sale outside those channels carries real risks, so stick to the official platform.

The venue is designed for large crowds with accessible seating and entry options, and stewards direct the flow on the day; following the posted entry gate on your ticket and the clear-bag rule is the quickest way through the queues.

The host city runs on Central (UTC−5 in summer) time, which is worth keeping in mind when you convert a kickoff to your own zone. Houston is very hot and humid in summer, but the retractable roof and air conditioning keep conditions comfortable.

Pack for the local conditions, and check the forecast before you travel to the ground.

For visiting fans, a match here is also a chance to experience Houston, TX. Host cities lay on fan festivals, viewing areas and public-transport plans around the tournament, and the area around the stadium fills with supporters from both teams on game day.

If you are travelling in, it is worth building in time beyond the 90 minutes to take in the city, and to arrive at the ground early enough to soak up the build-up rather than rushing through the gates at kickoff.

On match day, FIFA enforces a clear-bag policy at every venue, and stadiums are typically cashless with mobile-only tickets. Travel light, load your ticket onto your phone in advance, arrive early to clear security, and bring sun protection or a rain layer depending on the weather above.

As one of the 16 host venues, NRG Stadium stages 7 fixtures in the expanded 48-team format, which runs 104 matches across the group stage, the new Round of 32 and the rest of the knockout bracket.

Which specific teams play here depends on how the draw and the bracket fall, but every match at a World Cup venue carries weight: in the group stage points are precious, and once the knockouts begin a single result at this ground can end a nation's tournament.

NRG Stadium is one of 16 stadiums chosen to host the first 48-team World Cup, a tournament that spans three countries and runs from mid-June to mid-July 2026.

Being a host venue puts Houston, TX on the global map for a few weeks, with travelling supporters, fan events and worldwide television audiences all focused on the matches played here.

For locals it is a rare chance to see the world's best national teams in person; for visitors it is a reason to plan a trip around the fixtures at this ground.

Spanish-speaking fans who cannot make it to Houston, TX can still follow every match here in Spanish. The biggest games air free over the air on Telemundo, Universo adds coverage on cable, and Peacock streams the matches in Spanish on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, phones and smart TVs.

The full list of fixtures at NRG Stadium, with kickoff times in your time zone, is shown below.