The last round of ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup ended this Wednesday (April 1st, Vietnam time). Many people accessing official ticket sales sites were disappointed because the waiting time was too long. Besides, ticket prices are also skyrocketing. First-class tickets to watch the final match are priced at over 10,000 USD.
The last ticket sales phase 2 days ago is organized in the form that whoever queues first will be able to buy first. Before that, ticket buyers need to have "special access rights" to be able to buy, or they will have to play a lottery to know which type of ticket they can buy after they have finished queuing.
In this final sale, out of 104 matches, 40 matches were sold at a higher average price. For the final match, first-class tickets were listed at 10,990 USD, a sharp increase compared to the old price of 8,680 USD in December 2025. Previously, in November 2025, this number was 7,875 USD. When starting sales in October 2025, the price of first-class tickets for the final match was 6,370 USD.
The 2nd-class ticket for the final is listed at 7,380 USD. The 3rd-class ticket is priced at 5,785 USD, more than double the initial price. For the 2 semi-finals, the price of the 1st-class ticket has increased to over 3,000 USD. All 4 quarter-final matches and some other knockout matches have also been priced up.
Opening matches in Mexico and Canada, each match featuring the national team of that country, also have similarly high ticket prices. First-class tickets for the World Cup opening match at the Estadio Azteca stadium in Mexico City cost $2,985 on Wednesday. Second-class tickets cost $2,260 and third-class tickets cost $1,410.
Currently, FIFA has not reduced ticket prices, despite suspicions that tickets for some matches are selling very slowly. Ticket prices at this time are even more expensive than the opening match of the US team at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles. That match between the US team and Paraguay on June 12 was initially the 3rd most expensive ticket match of the 2026 World Cup. However, ticket sales did not meet expectations. Prices have not changed since October 2025, still at $2,735 for first division, $1,940 for second division and $1,120 for third division, with thousands of tickets still on sale last Wednesday.
Ticket prices for most group stage matches remain unchanged, but for about 20 matches, ticket prices are higher than in December 2025. The match between Portugal and Colombia in Miami - the match FIFA said received the most ticket requests since last winter - has increased by 27%, to $890 for the 1st place. This is the largest increase for a group stage match.
The ticket sales opening phase on Wednesday is the final phase in 4 phases. In the previous 3 phases, there were 2 phases before the World Cup draw in December 2025 and 1 phase afterwards, FIFA randomly selected fans who registered to buy specific tickets or registered for the opportunity to buy tickets. Conversely, on Wednesday, fans could access the FIFA information portal and buy tickets directly.
Previously, FIFA sold all tickets by category, with each category including many areas on the stadium map. Now, tickets purchased in previous periods have been designated to the areas. Fans who logged in last Wednesday were able to see the seating map.
Last week, FIFA said tickets would continue to be issued in batches, possibly throughout the tournament. Some tickets may be kept for knockout matches. Others may be kept for matches that are not selling well. This is a common strategy in the ticketing industry to make demand seem higher than reality.
The new ticket prices announced on Wednesday are the 3rd significant price increase. Some matches such as Mexico's opening match recorded ticket prices increasing by more than 50%.
