Ticket Price Drop After USA and Portugal Exit
Ticket prices for Friday’s FIFA World Cup quarter‑final in Los Angeles have plunged after the elimination of hosts the United States and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal from the tournament.
According to a Forbes report, the cheapest resale tickets for the match fell by almost 60 percent following Monday’s Round of 16 matches. On the secondary marketplace TickPick, prices dropped from $2,950 to around $1,200.
The sharp decline came after Belgium thrashed the United States 4‑1 in Seattle, ending hopes of a home side appearing in the last eight.
Portugal also bowed out after a 1‑0 defeat to Spain in Arlington, Texas. The result brought Ronaldo’s World Cup career to an end and removed one of the tournament’s biggest attractions from the Los Angeles fixture.
Forbes said the exits of both the hosts and Portugal had a major impact on demand, noting that Spain’s victory over Portugal removed a significant amount of star‑power appeal from the quarterfinal match in Los Angeles.
The report also noted that average resale prices for all World Cup quarter‑final matches have dropped by 31.5 percent over the past day and by 50.4 percent over the last three days, citing ticket marketplace SeatPick.
SeatPick added that the number of tickets available on secondary markets has increased to 49,415 from 28,285 at the start of the tournament.
Among the quarter‑final ties, Thursday’s meeting between France and Morocco in Foxborough, Massachusetts, is currently the cheapest, with resale tickets available from $989 according to TickPick.
Despite the fall in quarter‑final prices, demand for the World Cup final remains strong. Forbes reported that the cheapest resale ticket for the July 19 final in New Jersey was priced at $9,346 as of Tuesday, although that figure is expected to change depending on the teams that qualify.
The report added that the 2026 FIFA World Cup has become the most expensive edition in the tournament’s history, with ticket prices reaching levels several times higher than those seen at previous World Cups.
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