The 2026 FIFA World Cup arrived in Texas with the opening match between the Netherlands and Japan before a crowd of 69,285 on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

Some fans came from Dallas-Fort Worth and others from as far as Kobe, Japan, to watch the 2-2 draw, and they talked about the atmosphere at AT&T Stadium.

Plano resident Parker Nay got tickets with his dad and took part in the Oranje Fanwalk, a tradition for Netherlands supporters.

“I went to Oklahoma State University, and we had a great college football program, and we never had an experience quite like that, where you have 20,000 people walking around just excited to represent their country, and it was really, really cool to see,” Nay said.

“We’ve been here for Cowboys games, for Big 12 championship games. ... It’s awesome just to get to see people from different countries, people who’ve flown from thousands of miles away, just to see their comrades play, and so it’s certainly a different vibe, and everyone’s been super nice and friendly, and all the fun stuff.”

In the Oranje Fanwalk, fans decked out in orange, the color of the Dutch national team, journey to the stadium in a parade led by the famous Dutch Orange Bus.

This is Nay and his father’s first World Cup, and being regulars to the arena, they arrived early and said they had no problem finding parking or driving around the stadium.

Yusuke Kawano, a San Francisco resident and Japanese native, came with a group of his friends. He had never been to AT&T Stadium or Texas and said even though he just landed Saturday, one aspect of the Lone Star State reminded him of Japan.

“Hella exciting. They do it big out here, everything is big,” Kawano said. “[I] flew in last night, and I will say it’s hot. It reminds me of Japan.”

Kawano was in his native country when he found out he got tickets to the World Cup, his third that he’s attended, and said he went through the roof when he found out.

“So we got really lucky,” he said. “We were in early bird lottery tickets, and my friends annually check them out for us, so we were lucky. ... When [they] told me I was ecstatic.”

Fans got into the experience, coming in colored wigs, blue for the Japanese and orange for the Netherlands, face paint and a plethora of costumes, and while both sets of fans were loud, the Japanese side stood out chanting nonstop for basically the entire game

The chanting stood out and seemed to empower their team, especially with Japan trailing 2-1 in the 89th minute, as Daichi Kamada would equalize the game, scoring off a header following a corner kick.

The first couple of goals of the game came in a flurry. After no scoring in the first half, there were three goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half.

Art Majalca and Adolfo Melchor came to the games as neither Dutch nor Japan supporters but found themselves switching sides by the end of the game due to the power of the Japanese fans chants, which got them to root for the Samurai Blue.

“Oh my god, they represented, and I was going for the Netherlands, and by the end of the game, I was going for Japan,” Melchor said.

Majalca, who had a team Mexico jersey on with a giant soccer hat, isn’t even a soccer fan. He prefers football and baseball, but said he had to take the opportunity to see a World Cup game.

“To me, it was great. I mean, I’m not a fan of either one, but just the experience was badass,” Melchor said. “They scored, they went at it, the fans were cheering. It was great.”

It wasn’t all perfect. The pair did complain about the line and the drive times to get into the stadium, but still were overwhelmingly satisfied with their experience.

No stadium in the country will see more World Cup games than AT&T Stadium’s nine, and if the first game is any indicator, fans will be treated to a show.

The next AT&T Stadium game is between England and Croatia at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Lawrence Dow

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Lawrence Dow is a digital sports reporter from Philadelphia. He graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from USC. He’s passionate about movies and is always looking for a great book. He covers the Texas Rangers and other sports.