What World Cup Games Are Being Played in Monterrey?

Monterrey is one of three Mexican host cities for the 2026 World Cup, and all of its action happens at one venue: Estadio BBVA, the home of Rayados de Monterrey, renamed Estadio Monterrey for the tournament. The city hosts four matches in total — three group-stage games and a single Round of 32 knockout — spread across roughly two weeks in June.

If you are planning a trip around a specific match, the dates are the part you can book against with confidence. The group-stage opponents are set by the December 2025 draw, while the knockout match on June 29 depends on how the groups finish — so the three group games below are fixed, and the fourth is the night you find out who you are watching.

The four Monterrey matches

Who could play the June 29 knockout match?

The Round of 32 night is the one Monterrey ticket where you do not yet know the teams — and that is the fun of it. The home side is the winner of Group F, which means it will be one of Netherlands, Japan, Sweden or Tunisia; the Dutch are the seeded favourites to top the group, with Japan their likeliest challenger. The visitor is the runner-up of Group C, a group headed by Brazil alongside Morocco, Scotland and Haiti. Brazil are expected to win it, so the second-place team that travels to Monterrey is most likely to be Morocco or Scotland — though a Brazil slip would put the five-time champions themselves in this fixture. In short: a strong European or Asian side hosting a dangerous African or South American one, under the lights of the Steel Giant.

Why only four matches?

Monterrey is the smallest of Mexico's three host stadiums by capacity, and that is by design rather than oversight. Estadio BBVA seats 53,500 — intimate by World Cup standards — but it is widely considered one of the best football-specific stadiums in the Americas, with the Cerro de la Silla mountain framed through the open end of the bowl. Four matches in a venue this size means nearly every seat is a good one, and the atmosphere is concentrated rather than diluted across an 80,000-seat NFL bowl.

The teams playing in Monterrey

Five nations play World Cup football at Estadio BBVA. Each has its own full guide here — squad, coach, schedule, expected weather and how their Monterrey match fits their tournament. Tap a team to read more.

See the stadium before you go

A walking tour of Estadio BBVA, the home of Rayados, gives a feel for the venue you will be sitting in. · Watch the original on YouTube

Planning around a match

The group-stage games land on a Saturday, a Saturday and a Wednesday, which means two of the three are weekend matches — convenient if you are flying in for a single game. The Round of 32 on Monday, June 29 is the prize draw: a knockout night in a stadium this loud is the ticket most fans will chase. Whichever you target, give yourself a day on either side. Monterrey rewards the visitor who stays long enough to eat a proper carne asada and ride up into the mountains, not just the one who flies in for ninety minutes of football.

For everything that surrounds the match — getting to the stadium, what the heat will be like, and where to watch if you do not have a ticket — the guides linked alongside this page cover each in turn.

Frequently asked questions