England and Manchester City defender Marc Guehi has become the first England player to publicly criticize FIFA's ticket pricing for the 2026 World Cup, calling the costs 'rubbish' after the bronze medal match against France saw thousands of seats unsold.
Guehi's Outburst After Bronze Medal Victory
Guehi, a key figure in England's third-place finish, spoke out after the 6-4 win over France in Miami. Despite the thrilling match, only 64,478 fans filled the Miami Stadium, which has a capacity of 71,000. As of 10am on the day before the match, 7,000 tickets remained unsold, including 1,246 on general sale, according to the Express. Tickets for the third-place play-off were priced at £657 and £855 on general sale.
'It's always hard, especially when you feel like you should have been in the final, so it was down to us to try to do the best that we could,' Guehi told reporters. 'We owe it to fans back home for the support. We definitely owe it to everyone who came and watched, especially here in Miami. Because ticket pricing was rubbish. I don't know what they were thinking, FIFA, to be honest. So at least they could enjoy a fairly entertaining game.'
FIFA's Defense of Ticket Prices
FIFA president Gianni Infantino had defended the pricing before the tournament, arguing that prices reflected the US entertainment market. 'We have to look at the market – we are in the market in which entertainment is the most developed in the world. So we have to apply market rates,' Infantino said. 'In the US it is permitted to resell tickets as well. So if you were to sell tickets at the price which is too low, these tickets will be resold at a much higher price. And as a matter of fact, even though some people are saying that the ticket prices we have are high, they still end up on the resale market at an even higher price, more than double of our price.'
Despite Infantino's justification, ticket prices for the final soared. Before the final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, prices surged to around $2,000 (£1,490). Last-minute tickets ranged from $10,000 to $60,000 (£7,451 to £44,706), while FIFA's official resale site listed the cheapest tickets at just over $6,000 (£4,471), according to ESPN.
England's World Cup Campaign
Guehi started all but one match for England, playing every minute except for the opening 4-2 victory over Croatia, where he featured for only three minutes. After a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Argentina in the semifinals, England regrouped to defeat France 6-4 in the bronze medal match, described by many as the most exciting game of the tournament. Spain went on to win the final 1-0 against Argentina, with former Manchester City forward Ferran Torres scoring the extra-time winner.
