Seattle’s last – and biggest – FIFA World Cup match is tomorrow. Here’s what to know about getting downtown, and more
By Macey Wurm
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
The 2026 FIFA World Cup’s Seattle leg will come to a close tomorrow with the USA v. Belgium match kicking off at 5 p.m. The two teams will be competing for a place in the quarterfinals – the USA’s first time in this position since 2002.
In light of the big day, the city will continue some of its previous game day traditions, but also plans additional street closures, fan zone operating times, and watch parties in anticipation of larger crowds tomorrow. Here’s what to know if you’re going to or through downtown, whether you have match tickets or not:
Fan celebrations will commence at Pier 58 tomorrow morning starting at 10:30 a.m. accompanied with DJs, fan activations, food, drinks, and more.
Fans are invited to participate in the USA “March to the Match” taking off from the pier around 3 p.m. SeattleFWC26 recommends that fans without tickets to the match itself remain at Pier 58, or will be directed to exit the march before the crowd reaches Seattle Stadium.
Some changes will be made to fan celebrations including the opening of the Pioneer Square Pedestrian Zone (map above) 30 minutes earlier, at 12:30 pm, and a new watch party in the Chinatown-International District dubbed “Kicking it in the CID.” The party will be hosted at Hing Hay Park, with doors opening at 4 p.m.
SDOT plans to close additional streets including portions of Alaskan Way beginning in the early afternoon and lasting through the duration of the march. (Details here.) Additionally, the northbound SR 99 exit to Dearborn Street and Alaskan Way will be closed until the march is out of the area. Generally, SeattleFWC26 recommends that for traveling downtown, drivers should consider taking the I-5 or SR 99 tunnel.
For West Seattle residents looking to get downtown, the West Seattle Water Taxi route will be providing additional service from 8:45 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Boats will depart from each dock – Seacrest here, Pier 50 downtown – every 20 minutes, but the King County Water Taxi advisory notes that if boats hit capacity, they will depart early.
If you’re not heading downtown but want to watch the match with other fans, we checked around for watch parties; Ounces already has one in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, and other venues planning watch parties include Admiral Pub (2306 California SW), West Wings (2329 California SW), The Westy (7908 35th SW), Beveridge Place Pub (6413 California SW), and The Bridge (California/Graham) will be showing the match. (Any place else? Let us know and we’ll add.)
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