Wayne Sports Bars Are Getting Ready For World Cup 2026

WAYNE, NJ — The world’s biggest soccer tournament, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, is coming to New Jersey. Not all fans in Wayne can see the action in person, but they can still find plenty of places to watch the World Cup, the world’s biggest soccer tournament.

Fans from around the globe will come to North America for matches that are being played across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

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The 2026 World Cup runs 39 days, starting Thursday, June 11, and ending July 19. For the first time, the tournament will feature 48 teams, making it the largest World Cup ever.

Given the massive popularity of the World Cup, sports bars across the country are expected to draw large and energetic crowds. Some to consider in and around Wayne include:

Yard House

• Address: 320 Willowbrook Blvd, Wayne (In Willowbrook Mall)
• Phone: (973) 339-5128
• About: Located inside the Willowbrook Mall, Yard House offers a huge menu with favorites like tacos, wings, pizza, burgers, and plenty more, along with over 100 draft beers on tap.

Grasshopper Too

• Address: 26 Erie Ave, Wayne
• Phone: (973) 696-9698
• About: This Irish-American pub offers tavern classics as well as Irish fare, including bangers and mash, shepherd's pie, and more. TVs in both the dining and bar areas make it so you can keep an eye on the games while enjoying dinner and a pint.

Maggie's Town Tavern

• Address: 1082 Hamburg Tpke, Wayne
• Phone: (973) 256-7702
• About: Maggie's Town Tavern offers a very large menu of food, including sandwiches, pizza, salads, soups, steaks, ribs, and more. There's also plenty of draft beers and specialty cocktails to enjoy.

Tommy's Tavern and Tap

• Address: 71 NJ-23, Wayne
• Phone: (973) 691-3200
• About: This award-winning, Jersey Shore-borne chain offers traditional bar delights like wings, nachos, and more, as well as coal-fired pizza and sushi options. A wide drink menu features beers, cocktails, and wines.

Brokedown Palace

• Address: 95 Mountainview Blvd, Wayne
• Phone: (973) 406-7482
• About: This gastropub opened just a few months ago. Along with a variety of draft beers and specialty cocktails, Brokedown Palace’s menu features pub favorites including fried pickles, smash burgers, pasta dishes, pizzas, and more.

Dave & Buster's

• Address: 310 Willowbrook Mall, Wayne
• Phone: (973) 435-9244
• About: This chain restaurant/arcade/bar is a staple for football Sundays, offering game day deals, traditional bar bites, cocktails, beer, and more, with TVs all around. You, of course, can go play a plethora of arcade games during commercial breaks.

The World Cup will feature an unprecedented trio of star-studded opening ceremonies in the host nations, the United States, Canada, and Mexico, created by the Italian producer behind the opening ceremony for this year's Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

The ceremonies' unifying theme will be “the celebration of sports, the passion for soccer, symbolized by the cup itself,” Marco Balich, creative director of Milan-based Balich Wonder Studio, told The Associated Press. “The idea is to narrate with three points of view and languages,” using design aesthetics representative of each culture.

In Canada, a mosaic will represent its multicultural identity. Mexico's motif will be the traditional paper cutouts called papel picado, while the United States will have “a super shiny, glowing cup,” said Balich, who also produced the opening ceremony for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Each ceremony will feature top artistic performances that tap into the national identity, but Balich said spectators shouldn’t expect a Super Bowl-style halftime extravaganza. Instead, the ceremonies will combine welcoming speeches, a parade of flags, the presentation of the match ball and about 30 minutes of musical entertainment.

The U.S. opening ceremony takes place on Friday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Beginning at 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time/7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, 90 minutes before the USA vs. Paraguay opening match. Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema, and Tyla headline an all-star lineup.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.