Emma Ruby
Audio By Carbonatix
Update, 12/6/2025, 11:45 a.m.: The schedule for the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stages was announced on Saturday morning in New York City following Friday’s draw ceremony. AT&T Stadium in Arlington, going by the name Dallas Stadium for World Cup purposes, will host matches for teams in Groups F, J and L.
Group F games that will take place in Arlington include the Netherlands vs. Japan on June 14, followed by Japan vs. the winner of the play-in series between Ukraine, Sweden, Poland and Albania.
Group J includes defending World Cup champion Argentina, home of all-time great Lionel Messi. And indeed, the great one will visit Arlington twice when his team takes on Austria on June 22 and again on June 27 to play against Jordan.
AT&T Stadium will host only one Group L match, but it’s a doozie featuring two global powers. England will face Croatia in Arlington on June 17 in a rematch of one of the 2018 World Cup semifinals. Petar Musa, the top scorer for FC Dallas, stands a strong chance of being one of Croatia’s stars when they come to town for the tournament.
The United States Men’s National Team is in Group D and will play its group stage matches in Los Angeles on June 12 against Paraguay, June 19 in Seattle against Australia and back in Los Angeles on June 25 against the winner of the play-in series between Slovakia, Kosovo, Romania and Turkey.
Speaking from the stage in New York during the schedule reveal, American soccer legend and broadcaster Alexi Lalas said boldly, “If you believe in soccer gods, for the U.S., you gotta love this group. You gotta believe American will win this group.”
Original article from Dec. 5, 2025, below:
Scarves and flags representing Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Scotland and Argentina were draped across the shoulders of audience members Friday morning as hundreds of North Texas soccer fans gathered at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth to watch the selection ceremony for the 2026 World Cup.
Dubbed the “draw” party, the ceremony — broadcast from Washington, D.C. — was the first step in sorting 48 world teams into the 12 groups that will face off next summer, and offers Dallas its first look at which teams could call North Texas home when the World Cup kicks off. AT&T Stadium, which will be renamed Dallas Stadium for the tournament, will host two matches in Groups F and J, and one in Group L.
The teams in Group F are the Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia and the winner of a soon-to-be-decided playoff between Ukraine, Sweden, Poland and Albania. Group J comprises Argentina, Algeria, Austria and Jordan. The Fort Worth crowd erupted into cheers as Argentina was announced in the group’s first position, enthusiastic about the possibility of Lionel Messi playing in North Texas. Argentina is the defending World Cup champion.
A match between some combination of England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama will also be played in Dallas next summer. The full match schedule will be announced Saturday, and North Texas will host nine games total, including a semifinal match.
Emma Ruby
Friday’s draw party is an early glimpse at the hype heading for North Texas next summer, as fans clad in jerseys, hats, flags and scarves cheered along with the televised ceremony. (Or, in cases when President Donald Trump was shown on screen, booed loudly.)
Gregg Wilson, a North Texas sports fan who has gained attention for his outrageous headwear, attended the draw ceremony wearing an oversized, soccer-printed helmet.
“People don’t even know what’s about to happen here next summer,” Wilson remarked while brandishing an LED sign reading USA.
The United States will face Paraguay, Australia, and the winner of a playoff between Turkey, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo in the group stage of the tournament. The first opportunity North Texas will have to host the U.S. team will be in the round of 32 stage.
Jimmy Smith from the North Texas World Cup Organizing Committee was happy with how the draw worked out.
“So many big teams with big names are going to be playing here,” he said immediately after the groups were announced. “We felt really confident that any of the top-tier teams would be great to have here, but for us to get the defending World Cup champion in Argentina and England both play here, you couldn’t ask for anything more.”
