North Texas is locked in as one of the biggest stages for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with AT&T Stadium in Arlington – which FIFA will temporarily label “Dallas Stadium” – set to host a tournament-high nine matches, including a semifinal on July 14, 2026.
The final match schedule released after Friday’s World Cup draw puts some of the sport’s biggest names and fan bases squarely in Arlington. Group-stage fixtures at Dallas Stadium will feature Argentina, Austria, Croatia, England, Japan, Jordan, the Netherlands and the winner of the UEFA Playoff B bracket, giving North Texas a steady run of marquee games spread across June.
Five specific group matches are already locked in. On Sunday, June 14, the Netherlands face Japan in a Group F clash, followed by England versus Croatia in Group L on Wednesday, June 17. The defending World Cup champions Argentina meet Austria on Monday, June 22 in Group J, Japan return to play the eventual European playoff winner (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland or Albania) on Thursday, June 25, and Jordan take on Argentina on Saturday, June 27.
After the group stage, Dallas Stadium will add four knockout fixtures to its slate: two Round of 32 matches, one Round of 16 match and that July 14 semifinal, giving the region a front-row seat to the business end of the tournament.
Those games will come on top of 104 total matches being played across 16 host cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 through July 19, the first World Cup with an expanded 48-team field and a new Round of 32.
For North Texas, the lineup is exactly what local organizers were hoping for: multiple dates featuring global powers such as Argentina and England, strong European and Asian followings from the Netherlands and Japan, and a semifinal that is likely to bring an enormous international TV audience along with tens of thousands of traveling fans. Regional officials say the match schedule strengthens Dallas’ role as a centerpiece host city, on top of plans for the International Broadcast Center at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and a multi-week fan festival.
The tournament will also temporarily strip corporate names from venues under FIFA’s strict sponsorship rules, which means AT&T Stadium will be branded as “Dallas Stadium” during the World Cup, even though it sits in Arlington. Similar renaming will happen around the continent as FIFA standardizes stadium identities to match host cities and avoid advertising conflicts.
Fans who want to be inside the building now have a clearer roadmap for planning. FIFA says nearly two million tickets for the tournament have already been sold, and another global sales window – a random selection draw – runs from December 11 through January 13 for fans to apply for seats to specific matches, including those in Arlington. Hospitality packages that bundle premium seating with food, drink and other perks are on sale now through FIFA’s official hospitality partner.
Between the heavyweight matchups, the volume of games and the semifinal spotlight, the 2026 World Cup schedule effectively turns AT&T Stadium into one of the central hubs of the entire tournament, with North Texas set to welcome waves of fans, teams and international media over more than a month of soccer next summer.
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