In 2026 World Cup semi-finals, the battles between the top four teams will take place on July 14th and 15th. The ticket prices for the Argentina vs. England match are significantly higher than the France vs. Spain match.
According to the Financial Times, data from the ticket tracking agency TicketData shows that as of noon on Monday (July 13), the lowest entrance ticket price for the Argentina vs. England match was $2,841, a 34% increase over the past three days.
The Argentina vs. England match will be held on Wednesday (July 15) in Atlanta. The ticket prices had surged to $2,966 on last Saturday (July 11) but later dropped to $2,537 the following day.
Argentina, the defending champions, have a strong fan base, and Atlanta United FC, a Major League Soccer team, has many Argentine fans.
The former Argentina national team coach Gerardo Martino took over as the head coach of Atlanta United FC last November, which is believed to be connected to the escalating excitement among local fans.
In contrast, the semi-final match between France and Spain, to be held on Tuesday (July 14) in Dallas, has a lowest ticket price of only $1,325, a 26% decrease over the past three days, less than half of the price for the Argentina vs. England match.
Currently, France ranks first and Spain ranks third in the FIFA World Rankings. Both teams have held the top spot in the rankings for a long time in the past.
Additionally, the ticket prices for the Argentina vs. England match are nearly double the price of the third-place match. The third-place match will be held in Miami on Saturday (July 18) with a minimum ticket price of $1,543.
The final match will take place on Sunday (July 19) at the New York New Jersey Stadium with a lowest ticket price of $6,760, a 6% decrease over the past 72 hours.
Earlier, the final match ticket prices had once risen to $13,650 in October last year, remained at $12,301 on June 21st, before dropping to $9,911 on July 6th.
FIFA has faced criticism in the past for high World Cup ticket prices, with fan groups even filing lawsuits against them on grounds of excessive pricing.
In April this year, the official FIFA resale platform had four tickets priced at $2 million each. Although FIFA President Gianni Infantino joked about it at the time, he defended the high ticket prices, saying that global football governing bodies should use the ticketing practices in the U.S. allowing tickets to be resold at significantly higher prices.
Experts believe that ticket prices are influenced by various factors, with the main reason being that out of 104 matches in this edition, 78 are being held in the U.S.
Simon Chadwick, Director of the Asia-Europe-Africa Sports Industry Center at Emlyon Business School, told Al Jazeera, “One of the main reasons the World Cup is being held in the U.S. is because of its immense revenue potential.”
Chadwick mentioned that FIFA entering the U.S. market is entering a “mature” market where there is a strong demand for high-end ticketing and corporate customer markets.
He also explained the reasons for the sudden increase and decrease in ticket prices, mentioning that FIFA is using the “dynamic pricing model” that has been in use in the U.S. for many years.
Dynamic ticketing, also known as dynamic pricing, is a ticket sales strategy where prices are not fixed but adjusted in real-time based on market demand, supply, and timing of ticket sales.