The Mexico City Stadium has secured its place in football history, becoming the first arena to host matches across three separate FIFA World Cup tournaments — an achievement that completes a journey stretching back six decades.

Five matches at the FIFA World Cup 2026 were staged at the iconic venue, and each one was played in front of a capacity crowd of 80,824 — producing the five highest attendances of the entire tournament and a perfect 100% occupancy rate.

A temple of football

Officially opened in 1966, the Estadio Azteca — as it was previously known — took five years to construct. Before building could even begin, workers had to remove 180 million kilograms of rock from 64,000 square metres of land. Ten architects, 17 technicians, 35 engineers, and 800 labourers worked around the clock to make it possible.