New York Times (12/08/25) Bushnell, Henry

The resale price of tickets to 2026 World Cup games involving Argentina and Portugal increased by an average of almost 300 percent in the hours after this past Friday's World Cup match and Saturday's schedule release. Prior to Friday, with match-ups not yet known, the cost of the cheapest ticket for the June 27 match at Hard Rock Stadium in Florida sold for less than $400, notes ticketdata.com. On Saturday afternoon, less than one hour after FIFA announced that the game would be Colombia vs. Portugal, the get-in price shot up to above $2,000. Hours later, it almost topped $3,000 before settling around $2,200. It is presently the fourth priciest ticket of the tournament, trailing only the World Cup final and semifinals, on the secondary market. The second-largest leap was for Brazil vs. Scotland, and then three of the next four largest increases were for Argentina's three group games. The soaring prices are driven partly by two star players — Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina's Lionel Messi.

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