One of the biggest soccer moments of the 20th century happened in New Jersey.
On October 1, 1977, a sell-out crowd of 75,646 fans squeezed into Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. There, in the pouring rain, they watched a 37-year-old Pele take part in his last professional game. The Brazilian legend played the first half with the New York Cosmos, and the second with Santos, the first club he played for. An estimated 400-500 million people tuned in on TV.
This moment happened before Major League Soccer ever formed, and well before the 1994 men’s World Cup. This was even before Diego Maradona lifted the World Cup trophy with Argentina.
Pele’s arrival in the United States in 1975 sparked a soccer revolution across the country, with New Jersey and New York City at its epicenter. In 2026, when the region hosts eight men’s World Cup games, including the final, it will only deepen that legacy.
The New York-New Jersey region has come a long way in the almost half a century since Pele retired.
The 1994 men’s World Cup filled the city’s consciousness with soccer-centric memories of iconic match-ups, such as the one between Italy and the Republic of Ireland (0-1) in the group stage at Giants Stadium, or when Italy beat Bulgaria 2-1 in the semifinals. In 1999, Giants Stadium hosted the opening match of the 1999 Women’s World Cup, with members of that iconic United States Women’s National Team roster often referencing the bumper-to-bumper traffic they encountered on their way into the stadium.
The region now boasts several professional soccer teams. There are Major League Soccer clubs, the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC, and Gotham FC in the National Women’s Soccer League. The region has a vibrant youth soccer community and is known for having produced some of the biggest stars of the U.S. national teams, including retired players such as Carli Lloyd, Tim Howard, Tobin Heath and Tony Meola.
There are no other host cities quite like “New York New Jersey”. Locals from both states will roll their eyes at the name, making the two sides more alike than we would care to admit.
This is the city that never sleeps, meaning there is always something to do or someone to meet.
The passion for soccer here is fueled in part by the millions of immigrant families who call this region home. Its diversity is unavoidable — from the hundreds of languages heard around New York City to the array of restaurants representing every corner of the culinary globe. While many might skip the suburbs outside of Manhattan, these small communities operate in parallel with those that exist in and around New York.
In downtown East Rutherford, the small borough is slowly transforming into a transit neighborhood with luxury apartments and several new restaurants. Restaurants near the train station are displaying games outdoors, which will only become more frequent come summertime. On a recent Saturday morning, a steady stream of customers flowed through Caffe Roma on Park Avenue. The store was busier than usual because of a bocce tournament down the street — a celebration of Italian-American pride. This is the same community that celebrated when Italy won the World Cup in 2006, as neighborhoods across New Jersey rejoiced.
No matter who wins this World Cup, there will be fans from this region flooding Times Square to celebrate. It is what happened in 2022 when thousands of Argentine-Americans descended on the New York City landmark despite the December cold to commemorate one of the greatest finals of all time.
This World Cup will be the ultimate test for this market, as the U.S. Men’s National Team typically does not fare well with the home crowd in New York (it’s not that fans don’t go to games; it’s that so many of them are supporting the other team). A historic run by the U.S. could transform this loyalty by giving fans something to actively root for.
NYNJ is a massive sports hub. It’s home to at least 13 professional sports teams, and counting. The city boasts three basketball teams (New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets in the NBA; New York Liberty in the WNBA); two National Hockey League sides (NJ Devils and NY Rangers); two National Football League teams (Jets and Giants), and two Major League Baseball teams (Yankees and Mets). There are also the three professional soccer clubs mentioned earlier, and Brooklyn FC on Coney Island.
Following the World Cup, the region will have another major soccer milestone. By 2027, Etihad Park, the future home of NYCFC, will become the first soccer-specific stadium to open in the city limits of New York City.
Every so often, there are reminders that the growth of this beautiful game is in progress.
Pele left an indelible mark on American soccer as one of the sport’s early architects in the 1970s. When the World Cup arrives, it will be the biggest soccer moment in New Jersey in the 21st century — and it will be exciting to see where the next half-century takes us.
The stadium
MetLife Stadium (Luke Hales via Getty Images)
New York New Jersey Stadium usually goes by the name MetLife Stadium, home of the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets. In recent years, the venue has become a regular backdrop for international soccer matches, including some of the biggest competitions in the world. It hosted games at two Copa Americas (2016, 2024) and the Club World Cup (2025). In July, fans of Manchester United and West Ham United set the venue’s soccer attendance record with a sellout crowd of 82,566.
While the stadium’s soccer heritage is still forming, the venue’s predecessor, Giants Stadium, was the home of the iconic New York Cosmos in the 1970s.
Like many World Cup venues, the stadium sits outside the centre of the city. Here it is in East Rutherford, NJ, a suburb that is roughly 12 miles from New York City. The venue is easy to get to by car or mass transit, with the latter being the recommended mode of transportation. Fans can get to the venue via bus or rail, with an on-site train station open for games or concerts. More on those logistics later.
What do the players say about the city?
There are historically deep ties between the U.S. Men’s National Team and the greater New York area, including with this current generation of players. Tyler Adams developed his craft with the New York Red Bulls before heading to Europe in 2019. Goalkeeper Matt Freese, a likely candidate for Mauricio Pochettino’s World Cup roster, recently signed a five-year extension with New York City FC.
“It’s going to be fantastic to have some of those games here,” Freese said of the World Cup. “The demographics in New York… we have so many people that are soccer fans, so to be able to reach them in global events like the Club World Cup and World Cup will be great to continue to grow the game in America, and specifically in New York City, where it is quite big.
“In New York, the opportunity to capitalize on a massive, massive market is going to be fantastic to grow the game at a global scale.”
It is worth mentioning that at a recent friendly between the USMNT and South Korea at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, fans came out in huge numbers in support of the ‘away’ team and their Los Angeles FC star Son Heung-min. Will it be the case during a World Cup that support for the home team is dwarfed by those cheering for their opponents? USMNT fans will be hoping they progress far enough to warrant a game in NYNJ so that we find out.
Where to go for breakfast
Top: Ai Fiori, Bottom: Recreation Bar (Images supplied by venues)
Where to go for lunchWhere to go for dinnerWhere to grab a drink during the day
Harriet’s Rooftop (Image supplied by 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge)
Where to grab a drink in the eveningWhere to stay
Four Seasons Hotel New York (Beata Zawrzel via Getty Images)
What to do
Central Park (Craig T. Fruchtman via Getty Images)
Where to watch other World Cup games
The World Cup will be broadcast from public spaces all over New York City. Every borough will have its own version of a fan fest, with the region’s main festival operating all tournament long at Liberty State Park in Jersey City.
If you’re looking for a more authentic experience, I recommend finding some neighborhood soccer bars that air matches year-round: Football Factory at Legends, Joyce Public House or Smithfield Hall. If you’re near East Rutherford on a matchday, I anticipate the area near Rutherford Station will be filled with fans watching World Cup matches on giant outdoor screens, which is already starting to happen with NFL games as new restaurants pop up in the downtown area in the run-up to the tournament.
Game-day hack
If you want to avoid the rush commute to NJNY Stadium on matchday, I recommend getting to East Rutherford early. If you’re taking the train from Penn Station to the stadium, you can take a detour to Rutherford Station and get to some of the bars and restaurants we’ve already recommended to kill some time before a match.
You could also head straight to Meadowlands Station on the first train to the stadium and walk across the pedestrian walkway to the American Dream mall. Here, there is plenty to do, from shopping to eating or grabbing a drink. If you’re travelling with children, there are plenty of options, including mini-golf and an indoor amusement park.
The best way to get around
Driving to the stadium is an option but would mean sitting in New York traffic and paying for tolls. There’s also the unknown cost of parking. For example, in the days leading up to a November 9 NFL game at MetLife, parking at the stadium cost $75 (£57) on the mobile parking app ParkWhiz.
Organisers are banking on NJ Transit being the preferred mode of transport. There will be dedicated bus lanes running between New York City’s Port Authority to the East Rutherford stadium, making buses a seamless option from Midtown. You can also take NJ Transit trains from Penn Station. If you opt for this route, you must transfer at Secaucus Junction to the Meadowlands Station rail line. It’s another easy option, with workers on the concourse guiding fans where they need to go during the transfer.
A round-trip bus ticket costs about $11, and a round-trip train ticket costs close to $13. Ubers are also an option, but surge pricing could increase your spending tenfold.
What will the conditions be like?
Average June/July temperature: 70F/75F (21C/24C)
Average June/July rainfall: 103mm/105mm
Altitude: 2m
You can read more here.
A sporting fact you might not know
We already told you Pele played his last game in East Rutherford, but did you know the Meadowlands used to be home to multiple professional sports teams?
The New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils once called Meadowlands Arena home before relocating to Brooklyn and Newark, respectively. The arena still stands today across the highway from NYNJ Stadium. There are tentative plans for this vacant space, used as a rehearsal stage, to be reimagined as a convention center after the World Cup.
The town was almost home to professional baseball, too, with long-ago plans for a minor league baseball stadium to be built where the American Dream now stands. If that had happened in the early 2000s, would we be spoiled with all this soccer in New York City? Thankfully, we’ll never know.
You can read guides to all of the 2026 host cities here.