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Dallas, TX, United States
2026 World Cup Guide: Dallas
Photo: travelview /ShutterstockExplore Matador Network’s full FIFA World Cup 2026 Travel Guide
As home to one of the largest stadiums and with an impressive lineup of matches, including the semi-final, Dallas plays an important role among the host cities for the FIFA World Cup 26.
Everything’s bigger in Texas, and AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, has a capacity of 92,000 spectators. Located in Arlington, it has about 15,000 parking spaces, which makes it all the more important for World Cup ticketholders to use taxis, rideshare, and public transportation.
“On behalf of the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee and the Dallas Host City, we look forward to welcoming soccer fans from all across the globe to our region next summer during FIFA World Cup 26,” Monica Paul, North Texas FWC organizing committee president and Dallas Sports Commission Executive Director, tells Matador Network. Dallas is holding not just more matches than any other city, but will also be home of the 2026 FIFA World Cup International Broadcast Center. That means Dallas will be the place where TV, streaming, radio, and digital coverage from every match is produced and distributed across the world. According to Paul and the committee, the region around Dallas will be “the center of the soccer universe [this] summer.”
If you love soccer, you’ll love Dallas, which hosted its first FIFA World Cup at Cotton Bowl Stadium in 1994. That event has been credited with boosting the sport’s popularity in the US, starting a youth soccer movement, and spurring the creation of Major League Soccer.
The men’s professional MLS team is FC Dallas, based at Toyota Stadium in nearby Frisco. In summer 2024, a new professional women’s team, Dallas Trinity FC, kicked off at its new home, the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium. And soccer continues to grow in the city, as evidenced by its newest team: a professional men’s team known as Atlético Dallas will start playing in the United Soccer League in 2027, helping develop the next generation of MLS superstars.
Here’s your guide to all things Dallas World Cup.
- About AT&T Stadium
- Tickets and matches
- Getting to Dallas
- Getting around during the World Cup
- Details on the FIFA Fan Zone
- Hotels, soccer bars, and what else to do
- More about Dallas
Venue: AT&T Stadium
Photo: CK Foto/Shutterstock
AT&T Stadium, the futuristic home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, opened in 2009 and is probably one of the most recognizable sports venues in the US. It’s in Arlington, Texas, about 20 minutes from Dallas toward Ft. Worth. The stadium seats about 80,000 fans normally, but can expand to accommodate more than 100,000 for major events. It’s best known for its massive video board hung in the center (once the largest HD screen on the planet, at 160 feet wide). The stadium also doubles as an art space, with site-specific works scattered throughout the concourses. AT&T Stadium has even hosted arguably the biggest sports event in North America — the Super Bowl. It was the site of Super Bowl XLV on February 6, 2011, when the Green Bay Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31 to 25. It hosted more than 103,000 fans — one of the highest attendance figures in Super Bowl history.
As with several host stadiums, it will be rebranded to “Dallas Stadium” during the World Cup, as FIFA doesn’t allow corporate names.
The Dallas World Cup schedule
- June 14, 2026: Netherlands vs Japan — Group F, 3 PM CT
- June 17, 2026: England vs Croatia — Group L, 3 PM CT
- June 22, 2026: Argentina vs Austria — Group J, Noon CT
- June 25, 2026: Japan vs Playoff Winner — Group F (teams pending), 7 PM CT
- June 27, 2026: Jordan vs Argentina — Group J, 9 PM CT
- June 30, 2026: Round of 32 — Runner-up Group E vs Runner-up Group I, 1 PM CT
- July 3, 2026: Round of 32 — Runner-up Group D vs Runner-up Group G, 2 PM CT
- July 6, 2026: Round of 16 — Winner Match 83 vs Winner Match 84, 3 PM CT
- July 14, 2026: (Semifinal) Winner Match 97 vs Winner Match 98, 3 PM CT
Tickets are on sale for all World Cup matches, though they’re currently limited to fans who have won various ticket-buying lotteries. Open sales for the general public are expected to start in February or March 2026. FIFA uses dynamic pricing, meaning that prices for tickets change as demand ebbs and flows. Supposedly, tickets for matches in Dallas will start as low as $180 and could run up to $700. That’s the original price; resales could get up into several thousand per ticket, especially for the semifinal.
Getting to Dallas
Dallas attracts more than 27 million annual visitors, with nearly three times that number visiting the broader Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Dallas Love Field (DAL) will make getting in and out during the World Cup quick and easy for athletes, coaches, dignitaries, and enthusiastic attendees. DFW is one of the world’s largest and busiest airports, with extensive connections worldwide. The region has more than 130,000 hotel rooms to support all of those travelers coming in, which may also make it one of the more affordable places to catch a World Cup match.
Dallas also has a large drive market, so depending on where you’re coming from, flying may not be necessary. Austin is less than three hours away, Oklahoma City 3.5 hours, Houston and Tulsa, Oklahoma, are four hours, and San Antonio is a 4.5-hour drive (with with lots of places to stop along the way).
Getting around town during the World Cup
Photo: Markus Mainka/Shutterstock
Visit Dallas, the official tourism organization, recommends visitors use public transport to the venue from the airport and continue to rely on public transport in the city whenever possible. To reach AT&T Stadium from Dallas, visitors can take the Trinity Railway Express from Dallas Union Station and CentrePort/DFW Airport Station. There used to be a special shuttle for special events from this station, but it was discontinued several years ago. So you’ll need to rely on rideshares for the final segment between CentrePort and the stadium. However, a mobility plan is currently in the works and will be in place before the tournament begins for teams, VIPs, and fans looking to get between the airports, stadiums, and hotels, North Texas FWC Organizing Committee President and Dallas Sports Commission executive director Monica Paul tells Matador Network.
If you’re staying in or near Arlington, Texas, you do have a few options. A few local restaurants offer shuttles to the stadium on game days, and select hotels in Arlington are on the Arlington Trolley Route, which stops at the stadium. Reservations are essential on big match/game days.
Alternatively, rideshare services like Uber and Lyft are readily available around Dallas, and the drive typically takes around half an hour, depending on traffic. The designated rideshare pickup and drop-off zones are clearly marked near AT&T Stadium.
The official Dallas FIFA Fan Zone
Fair Park, site of the Texas State Fair. Photo: Jacque Manaugh/Shutterstock
In Dallas, the official FIFA Fan Festival will be at Fair Park, the sprawling cultural and event campus known for hosting the massive Texas State Fair. The Fan Festival is free and open to everyone, making it the place to be in Dallas for fans who don’t have match tickets. Giant screens will broadcast all 104 World Cup matches live, interspersed with music, performances, interactive activities, food vendors, cultural events, and family-friendly activities. It’s expected to run for a full 39 days, and is reachable via public transportation by the Fair Park Station (DART). Because the host committee is still finalizing some details, the full range of experiences probably won’t be set in stone until closer to kickoff. Keep an eye on the official Dallas Fan Festival page for more details.
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More to do in Dallas
Photo: D Guest Smith /Shutterstock
Dallas offers a mix of cultural attractions, shopping, and vibrant nightlife — not to mention a wide variety of dining options across the city. If you’re into art, explore the expansive Dallas Arts District, home to world-class museums like the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Center. 
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