One of the World Cup venues, Mexico City, faces a structural challenge: soil subsidence Mexico City, one of the venues for the 2026 World Cup, faces a growing structural challenge: ground subsidence. In some areas, the phenomenon reaches around two centimeters per month, and the effects are already appearing in several parts of the capital. In the Zócalo, the city's main square, the problem is obvious. The Metropolitan Cathedral's towers lean to one side, while a neighboring chapel leans in the opposite direction. The National Palace, seat of the Mexican government, also seems out of place. Mexico City, one of the venues for the 2026 World Cup, suffers from subsidence TV Globo Considered the city that sinks the most in the world, the capital records around 24 centimeters of subsidence per year, equivalent to two centimeters per month. A NASA satellite monitors these changes in real time. Professor Dora Freire explains that the phenomenon occurs because the city was built on a set of ancient lakes. Currently, around 70% of the water that supplies the capital is taken from underground aquifers. The more water is extracted, the more the soil compacts and sinks. “This can be very dangerous for urban infrastructure, because fractures can affect a gas pipeline, a school or a hospital,” he says. Inside the Metropolitan Cathedral, a pendulum installed in the central nave helps monitor the situation. A marker and a graph on the floor indicate, in real time, the movement of the structure caused by soil instability. Mexico City, one of the venues for the 2026 World Cup, suffers from subsidence Globe