the selection will play in “Brazilian” stadiums and on storm alert

THE Brazil knew his program for the first matches of the 2026 World Cup this Saturday. THE FIFA revealed the dates, times and locations of the matches during a ceremony that took place the day after the group draws, also in Washington.

Brazil will make its debut against Morocco on June 13 (Saturday), at 7 p.m. (Brasilia time), at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford. The stadium will also host the tournament final on July 19.

“From what we understood, the schedules suited us, because here in the United States there will be two matches in the late afternoon, a milder temperature and a night. So, our concern about the temperature has already reduced a lot. And now, starting from Sunday, we will start our visits or revisit the base camps and hotels that we have already inspected before, to confirm our priority with FIFA,” said the general executive coordinator of the Brazilian men’s teams, Rodrigo Caetano.

The CBF has until the 9th to identify priorities in terms of hotels and training centers. On the 14th, FIFA confirmed the locations with the Brazilian entity.

During the Club World Cup, MetLife hosted some matches from Groups A and F, which included Palmeiras and Fluminense respectively. Alviverde’s club played two matches there: the 0-0 draw against Porto and the 2-0 victory against Al-Ahly, both in the group stage.

Fluminense has had three engagements at MetLife Stadium. This is where the Rio team stood up to Borussia Dortmund (0-0) and beat Ulsah HD (4-2) in the group stage. The team was still eliminated at the same venue, against Chelsea, after losing 2-0 in the semi-final.

MetLife Stadium

• Location: East Rutherford, New Jersey
• Ability: 82,500
• Inauguration: 2010
• Other sports: It is home to the NFL’s New York Jets and New York Giants.

In the second round, against Haiti, the match will take place on June 19 at 10 p.m. (Brasilia time), at Lincoln Financial Field, in Philadelphia. The venue also hosted Brazilian matches during the World Cup.

In the group stage, Flamengo played there twice. The first was in its infancy with a 2-0 victory against Esperance de Tunis. Then Flamengo fans beat Chelsea 3-1 in the same stadium.

There was also an all-Brazilian clash at Lincoln Financial Field. Palmeiras eliminated Botafogo in the round of 16. The match ended in extra time, won by Alviverdes 1–0, with a goal from Paulinho.

However, the last memory is bitter. This is where Palmeiras was eliminated from the World Cup. In the quarterfinals, the team lost to Chelsea 2–1.

Lincoln Financial Field

• Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Ability: 67,594
• Inauguration: 2003 and expanded in 2014
• Other sports: Home to the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles

The Brazilian team will play again in Miami, against Scotland, on June 24. The match will take place at Hard Rock Stadium, at 7 p.m. (Brasilia time). The Florida region constitutes one of the largest concentrations of Brazilians in the United States.

At the Club World Cup, the Hard Rock hosted a 2-2 draw between Palmeiras and Inter Miami in the group stage. Fluminense also drew there, in a match that ended 0-0 against Mamelodi Sundowns.

It was in this stadium that Flamengo said goodbye to the World Cup. There, the red and black team lost 4-2 against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

Hard Rock Stadium

• Location: Miami Gardens, Florida
• Ability: 64,767
• Inauguration: 1987
• Other sports: Home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins

History of lightning strikes alerts Brazilian team

A negative point of the Club World Cup was the pauses in matches due to storm warnings, which presented a risk of lightning during matches. This is a concern for the World Cup, and Brazil will play in places that have precedent in this regard.

At least three suspended matches took place in Florida, including one at MetLife Stadium itself, which hosts Brazil in the third round. The other two were at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, which does not participate in the World Cup. The distance between the city and Miami, however, is only 380 km.

At MetLife, Palmeiras was already leading Al-Ahly 2-0 when, at the start of the second half, referee Anthony Taylor interrupted the match due to storm risks. The players left the field and the fans entered the stadium.

In Orlando, Ulsan and Mamelodi Sundowns saw the start of their match (won by the South Africans 1-0) postponed by an hour. The stadium’s audio system advised fans to leave the area and seek shelter.

Also at Inter&Co, Benfica and Auckland City played a “four-hour match”. The game was stopped for two hours at halftime due to the storm warning. The Portuguese lost 6-0.