Messi and more: Why fans should be excited about World Cup teams coming to DFW
The FIFA World Cup 2026 schedule for the 48-team group stage is set, as soccer fans in Dallas-Fort Worth now know which games will take place at AT&T Stadium next summer. And, boy, it is exciting.
AT&T Stadium will host nine matches, more than any of the 16 venues hosting games across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Five will come in the group stage, two in the round of 32, one in the round of 16 and one semifinal.
Of the 16 venues, AT&T Stadium landed one of, if not the best slate with great teams and fan bases coming to Dallas. Here is what to know about which matches and teams will be in Arlington next summer:
Lionel Messi, Argentina on display twice
While Lionel Messi may not be the best player in the world like he was for a decade in the 2010s, his presence on the Argentine national team will draw huge crowds and big intrigue at whatever stadium he plays in next summer.
Fortunately for Dallas soccer fans, they will get the luxury of Messi playing at AT&T Stadium twice in the group stage. (He has not confirmed he is playing, but it is viewed as likely.)
On June 22, Argentina will face off against Austria, who is back in the World Cup for the first time since 1998. It will be the teams’ second of three group stage matches. Five days later, Argentina will return to AT&T Stadium to play a first-time World Cup participant, Jordan, on June 27.
Expect both games to be the two hottest tickets of the five matches at AT&T Stadium.
Argentina will be one of two teams to play twice at AT&T Stadium in the group stage, along with Japan.
Rabid Netherlands fan base, Japan coming
On the morning of June 14, if you see Arlington roads shut down with a large group of people wearing orange, don’t be surprised.
Netherlands, one of the most loyal national team fan bases in the world, will bring the “Het Oranje Legioen” or “The Orange Legion” fan base to AT&T Stadium to take on Japan.
It will be the first of two matches that Japan will play in Arlington, as the “Samurai Blue” will return to AT&T Stadium on June 25 to face the UEFA playoff winner among Ukraine, Poland, Sweden and Albania.
Japan has made it out of the group stage in each of the last two World Cups, while the Netherlands has knocked on the door of winning the tournament multiple times but has never come out on top. Three second-place finishes, a third-place finish in 2014 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2022 make up the nation’s World Cup history.
The British are coming
One of the more storied soccer nations in the world, England, will make its way to AT&T Stadium this summer.
On June 17, the squad nicknamed “The Three Lions” will play Croatia — a team that finished third in the World Cup in 2022 and second in 2018 — in a heavyweight European showdown. Peter Musa, a striker for FC Dallas, could be on the pitch for Croatia in this matchup.
England could field one of its best squads of the century, led by Harry Kane, Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze, as the Englishmen hope to win the tournament for the first time since 1966.
Of the five matches in the group stage round, this is the only one featuring two top 10 teams in the FIFA world rankings, with England at No. 4 and Croatia at No. 10.
North Texas over the moon on slate
Shortly after the match schedule was announced on Saturday, the Star-Telegram had the chance to catch up with the president of the North Texas World Cup Organizing Committee, Monica Paul. To say that her committee is excited about the announced slate would be an understatement.
“If you can scream, jump up and down and cry all at the same time, I think that’s pretty much what we were experiencing,” Paul said. “It was a very emotional day.”
The possibility of landing Argentina, Netherlands and England was made possible by Friday’s draw. To see all three land in Dallas is a blessing, Paul said.
“When people ask me early on which teams I want, these three were absolutely at the top of my list,” Paul said. “To see that come to fruition and then adding in Japan, Croatia and a few others in there, I think we’re blessed in DFW for what came out of the draw.”
U.S. has path to AT&T Stadium
While the U.S. will not play at AT&T Stadium in the group stage, a very realistic possibility exists for the Americans to find their way to Dallas in the knockout rounds.
In the round of 32, the runner-up finisher in USA’s Group D will play its first elimination game at AT&T Stadium on July 3 against the runner-up finisher in Group G (Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand). Now, the U.S. is the favorite to win its group after the draw on Friday saw Paraguay, Australia and a playoff winner to be determined (Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo) get placed with the Stars and Stripes.
If the U.S. wins its group as it is expected to, the earliest that AT&T Stadium could host Mauricio Pochettino’s squad would be in the semifinals.
This story was originally published December 6, 2025 at 1:44 PM.
