The countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup is on as lawmakers prepare for the Capitol Cup soccer match.
“Fox & Friends” covers the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, counting down to the global football event. Former USMNT midfielder Stu Holden joins live from Audi Field to discuss the Capitol Cup Congressional soccer game. Holden highlights the growing enthusiasm for soccer in the United States and the national team’s underdog chances at the World Cup before taking part in a light-hearted penalty challenge.
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FIFA’s rules for match days in the United States, Mexico and Canada for the World Cup are much stricter than regular sporting events, and that only continued on Thursday.
With just a week to go until the first match kicks off, FIFA has now banned refillable plastic water bottles inside stadiums.
This is a change from the original rules, which stated that refillable bottles were allowed if the weather was warm enough to warrant it. Now FIFA says there are no bottles, whatever the case may be.
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An advertisement for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is displayed during a Major League Soccer match between Toronto FC and FC Cincinnati at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario on April 11, 2026. (Indrawan Kumala/NurPhoto)
“FIFA is committed to protecting the health and safety of all players, referees, supporters, volunteers and staff,” FIFA told Reuters.
“FIFA has taken the decision to ban bottles to avoid risks and injuries to players and spectators.”
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It was previously thought that refillable water bottles would be of good use to football fans attending matches, as FIFA told Free Lions, a traveling embassy of England national team supporters, that the governing body had promised access to free water.
“In all our discussions, free access to water in stadiums was a key element and FIFA assumed to us that this would be the case and that fans would be able to bring their own water bottle,” the Free Lions wrote on social media, while also presenting a graphic indicating that refillable bottles would be allowed.
The countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup is displayed at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto on August 21, 2025. (Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star)
FIFA also blames some stadiums used for the World Cup, saying it is only enforcing rules that are already in force there.
Since the World Cup is taking place in the middle of summer, the hot conditions pose one of the biggest question marks, especially since some of these players competed in the Club World Cup last year. The final at MetLife Stadium, now called New York/New Jersey Stadium for the World Cup, was torrid last summer.
While this new rule is in effect, FIFA also previously told NPR that it would provide “additional cooling capacity, including shaded areas, misting systems, cooling buses and expanded water distribution” in cases of extreme heat. It is unclear if this is still in effect ahead of the tournament.
Ecuador supporters before the first half of the 2026 FIFA World Cup pre-friendly match against Saudi Arabia on May 30, 2026 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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For fans, that question remains, but players will be given a mandatory three-minute cool-down break around the 22nd minute of each half to ensure they don’t face heat exhaustion. It will also facilitate night games as well as domed stadiums like SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, AT&T Stadium in Dallas and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The World Cup final, however, will take place in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19 at 3 p.m. ET, which will be the maximum temperature of the day from the first whistle.
