Even Donald Trump said he wouldn't pay the price. Days out from the biggest World Cup in history, thousands of tickets are still on the market — and for several group-stage games, you can get in for less than $200 on resale.
Cabo Verde vs. Saudi Arabia has the most availability of any game: 1,245 primary tickets still on sale for the June 26 fixture at NRG Stadium in Houston, with resale prices starting at $186. That's a 48-team World Cup group game going for roughly the price of a mid-tier Premier League seat. Egypt vs. Iran (965 tickets, Lumen Field, Seattle) and Algeria vs. Austria (926 tickets, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City) aren't far behind.
The Cheapest Games Right Now
Based on resale data from TicketData.com, these 12 games currently have tickets available for under $300:
- Cabo Verde vs. Saudi Arabia — from $186 (June 26, Houston)
- Jordan vs. Algeria — from $192 (June 22, Santa Clara)
- Uzbekistan vs. Congo DR — from $204 (June 27, Atlanta)
These prices fluctuate, so what's listed now won't necessarily hold. But the direction of travel here is clear: demand for certain group-stage matchups involving smaller footballing nations is soft. If you're flexible on which game you watch, this is a genuine opportunity.
For context, group-stage tickets started at $60 through FIFA's official channels, while final seats topped out at $6,730. The tournament introduced dynamic pricing for the first time in World Cup history — prices move with demand. Right now, demand for several fixtures is telling its own story.
The Bigger Problem Behind the Bargains
FIFA president Gianni Infantino compared global interest in this tournament to "1,000 years of World Cups at once." The economic projections backed that up — $80.1 billion in gross economic impact forecast in a joint FIFA-WTO study, with $30.5 billion directed toward the U.S. The U.S. Travel Association noted international visitors expect to spend over $5,000 per person, nearly double a typical international trip stateside.
The hotels aren't feeling it yet. A survey by the American Hotel and Lodging Association found nearly 80 percent of hotel owners reported bookings tracking below initial forecasts. Seventy percent cited visa barriers and geopolitical concerns as the main drag on international demand. That's a structural issue no marketing campaign fixes overnight.
FIFA, for its part, has positioned itself as a not-for-profit, with tournament revenue reinvested into football development across its 211 member associations. Whether that framing lands with fans staring at $1,000 opening-game tickets is another matter entirely. Trump's quote — "I wouldn't pay it either, to be honest with you" — might be the most honest review the pricing strategy has received.
The semi-final in Dallas on July 14 still has over 1,000 tickets available too, which is a stranger data point than anything in the group stage.
