When football commentators analyse a World Cup match, they tend to focus on tactics, technical ability, physical conditioning and psychology. If a team wins away from home, we hear about mentality. If a player scores a spectacular goal, we praise their vision or instinct. Yet there is another factor that receives remarkably little attention: the stadium itself.

The 2026 Fifa World Cup, hosted across the United States, Mexico and Canada, presents perhaps the greatest architectural experiment in the tournament’s history. Sixteen stadiums, spread across the three countries, are staging matches in environments that differ dramatically in size, scale, form, lighting conditions and spatial character.

Some are purpose-built football grounds. Others are enormous NFL arenas adapted for the world’s game. Several feature retractable roofs. Others remain open to the elements. Together, they create a fascinating question: can the architecture of a stadium influence player performance?

As an interior designer, I have spent several years researching the relationship between footballers, spatial awareness and stadium design. My research began with a simple observation: across football, teams consistently perform better at home than away.

Traditional explanations focus on crowd support, yet during the COVID pandemic, when matches were played behind closed doors, home advantage did not disappear. This suggests there may be more complex factors at work.

A player receiving a pass rarely begins processing information at the moment the ball arrives. Long before that pass is played, they have........

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