England continue their FIFA Club World Cup campaign on Wednesday when the Three Lions take on DR Congo at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, with one of the tournament favourites aiming to move another step closer to the final.
Fresh from securing top spot in their group thanks to a 2-0 victory over Panama at MetLife Stadium, the venue that will also host the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, Thomas Tuchel’s side have strengthened their credentials to go the distance.
However, while England will hope to return to New Jersey for the showpiece, many supporters have questioned FIFA’s decision to stage the final at MetLife, with the stadium attracting criticism throughout the tournament. England vs DR Congo Odds examine the latest prices ahead of Wednesday’s knockout clash.
Why fans turned on MetLife
Start with the pitch. MetLife normally hosts the New York Giants and Jets of the National Football League (NFL), and its artificial turf carries a grim reputation. Players call it the ‘MetLife curse’ after a run of serious injuries, including Giants receiver Malik Nabers tearing his anterior cruciate ligament there. A temporary grass pitch went down for the tournament, but it hasn’t won everyone over. France midfielder Adrien Rabiot called the surface “hard and quite rigid”, and said it felt “more like an artificial surface”. MetLife was one of eight host venues that swapped artificial turf for a temporary grass pitch, so the surface was clearly a known concern.
Then there’s getting there. The ground sits in the Meadowlands, around five miles from Manhattan with no real walk-up, and one report found a Penn Station round-trip that usually costs about $13 going for roughly $98 during the tournament. Drive in and the car parks swallow the approach. Walk, and you can’t. The mood hasn’t helped. Fans have branded it “soulless” and “one of the worst in the country”.
Where fans would rather send it
Four grounds keep coming up as the venue supporters would swap it for. Each brings something MetLife can’t.
Estadio Azteca
Mexico City’s grand old ground is the only one to have staged two World Cup finals, in 1970 and 1986, and in 2026 it becomes the first to host matches at three men’s World Cups. Diego Maradona and Pele both lit it up, it still holds 83,000, and fans call it a football cathedral. The snag is the altitude. At 2,200m the thin air drains the legs and carries the ball further, the place is showing its age, and it’s hosting the opener this time, not the final. It only reopened this year after a lengthy refit, and runs under a different name for the World Cup.
AT&T Stadium
Dallas was the runner-up for the final, and the appeal is obvious. It led the bidding for a while before MetLife pipped it. AT&T hosted England’s first game of their World Cup campaign, where they beat Croatia 4-2 in a display that rocked the UK football odds. The stadium holds up to 94,000, the biggest of the lot, and its retractable roof and air-conditioning would shut out the July heat and any summer storms. It also stages more games than any other venue, a semi-final included. The catch is the setting, 17 miles from downtown Dallas, so it’s hardly a stroll from the city.
SoFi Stadium
SoFi opened in 2020 and, at a reported $5.5 billion, is the most expensive stadium ever built, with supporters rating it among the best anywhere. It needed a temporary grass pitch laid over its usual surface for the tournament, and its capacity is smaller than MetLife’s, but on looks and atmosphere it’s hard to beat.
Lincoln Financial Field
The home of the Philadelphia Eagles, known as ‘the Linc’, has one thing the turf venues can’t match: a permanent grass pitch, so no temporary surface to worry about. It’s loud, it has character, and unlike the New Jersey site, it actually feels like a football ground. The catch is size, as it’s the smallest of these contenders.
The verdict
The fans have a point on feel and surface. MetLife can come across as a corporate bowl in a car park, the pitch questions are fair, and at 82,500 it isn’t even the biggest stadium in the running. But FIFA isn’t shifting the final now. Soulless or not, on 19 July MetLife gets the showpiece, and the row will rumble on long after the trophy goes up.