World Cup ticket prices plummet after defeats for Canada, South Korea

MIAMI: Defeats by Canada and South Korea in their final 2026 World Cup group matches caused a domino effect that has sent ticket prices for multiple round of 32 matches spiralling.

South Korea was stunned by South Africa on Wednesday night, leaving them in third place in Group A and needing help in order to advance to the knockout rounds. Had South Korea finished among the top two, they would have played their round of 32 match in Los Angeles, where the team has a strong contingency.

Instead, that match will now feature South Africa.

Earlier in the day, Canada lost to Switzerland to finish second in Group B. While Canada has advanced to the round of 32, they will now face South Africa rather than playing in Vancouver had they finished first in their group.

Ticket tracking service TicketData.com told Field Level Media that the get-in price for the round of 32 matches in Los Angeles and Vancouver both dropped more than 40% in the span of a few hours after Wednesday’s results.

The get-in price for South Africa-Canada at Los Angeles Stadium on Sunday is now at US$683, down 58% over the past three days. Switzerland’s opponent for the round of 32 game in Vancouver on July 26 has yet to be determined, but the get-in price still plummeted to US$560 – down 65% over the past three days.

After Canada won their second group match, setting the stage for a potential round of 32 match in their home country, the get-in price surged as high as US$1,657 on Sunday night.

Overall, TicketData.com reports that the median seven-day average change for all World Cup matches has increased 23% to US$913. However, for the remaining 50 matches as of Thursday morning, the get-in price had decreased 5% to US$1,562.

The highest get-in price for the round of 32 is Mexico’s match in Mexico City on June 30. Even with their opponent yet to be determined, the price to get into the match has surged to US$2,828. That’s slightly ahead of the get-in price for Argentina’s next match in Miami on July 3, which sits at US$2,820.

The United States men’s national team already has secured first place in Group D. Their final group match against Turkey in Los Angeles on Thursday night has a get-in price of US$1,532.

The USMNT don’t know their next opponent, but the price for their round of 32 match in San Francisco on July 1 is US$1,943 – somewhat surprisingly down 32% over the past three days. It had spiked as high as US$3,163 on Saturday, the day after their win over Australia in Seattle.