What local World Cup organizers will be watching during the U.S. friendlies in Atlanta

Organizers say they feel prepared for the World Cup after hosting a myriad of major soccer and cultural events at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But there's still a few things they'll be monitoring when the USMNT plays this weekend.

Doug Roberson

March 26, 2026

Mercedes-Benz Stadium installed grass turf for the FIFA Club World Cup. last summer. It will install grass again for the World Cup.

Hosting two U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium won’t be a rehearsal for the eight World Cup matches coming this summer.

That preparation is done. Even the grass will be taken care of.

Those trial runs happened with, among the dozens of international events that the stadium hosted, the two Copa America matches two years ago and the six Club World Cup matches last summer. And hosting Taylor Swift’s massively hyped Eras tour in 2023 and Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter shows last year helped the stadium prepare for the influx of people from around the world who came to Atlanta to attend the concerts.

So when the U.S. hosts Belgium on March 28 and Portugal on March 31, organizers are confident that all aspects of hosting will run smoothly for both those games and the World Cup thanks to muscle memory built not just from the two previous international tournaments, but also the myriad events, sporting and otherwise, the city and stadium have hosted over the years.

“We are in really good shape for the World Cup,” AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Operating Officer Dietmar Exler said. “The two U.S. Men’s National Team matches are important to us because U.S. Soccer is headquartered now in Atlanta, and we are at the beginning of a hopefully long, mutually beneficial relationship. We want them to play here often.”

Exler said the two matches are important for fine-tuning to ensure proper staffing levels and that everything is up to date.

The stadium is so prepared that, other than the rebuilding of the field and irrigation to handle the FIFA-mandated grass for the World Cup, it had to make no other purposeful updates. Even the retractable seating installed in the corner was planned before the World Cup sites were selected.

Stadium staff and the Atlanta Sports Council will be watching how international fans coming for the friendlies interact with the area, hoping to apply that information toward the World Cup. Atlanta Sports Council President Dan Corso said they will study where fans gather before the match, where they congregate at the stadium, and how they move through the stadium, so that all of the stakeholders can try to make sure the international fans’ experience is as good as possible.

“Having the U.S. play is going to give us another opportunity to show what the stadium is capable of doing for premium international soccer,” he said.