Meet the 8 teams playing 2026 World Cup Group Stage games at ‘Dallas' Stadium

AT&T Stadium in Arlington is currently being transformed in preparation for nine World Cup matches across June and July.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins June 11, kicking off a month-long worldwide sporting event in North Texas.

AT&T Stadium in Arlington, which will be renamed Dallas Stadium to comply with FIFA policy prohibiting corporate sponsorships at competition venues during the tournament, will host nine matches throughout the event. That's the most for any single venue and includes five Group Stage matches, four knockout matches and a semifinal on July 14.

Groups were determined by random draw last year, and FIFA plans to announce the 26-player official squad lists for the 48 competing teams on Tuesday, June 2. The Associated Press said the Netherlands will reveal its roster on May 25, and the US is expected to announce its roster on May 26.

First Group Stage Match - June 14

The first game in North Texas will be on Sunday, June 14, at 3 p.m. between the Netherlands and Japan, who are in Group F with Tunisia and Sweden. The Netherlands will train in the Kansas City area and Japan will train in Nashville. The Netherlands is sharing a base camp with two other teams playing in North Texas, England, and the defending World Cup Champions, Argentina.

The last six World Cups have seen six different champions — Argentina in 2022, France in 2018, Germany in 2014, Spain in 2010, Italy in 2006 and Brazil in 2002. Such a run had never previously happened in World Cup history. Argentina is trying to do something that hasn’t been done in generations: win back-to-back World Cups. The only nations to achieve that feat were Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962).

Second Group Stage Match - June 17

Few teams have had as tortured a history at the World Cup as England, despite its reputation as the birthplace of modern soccer. England will reveal its roster on May 22; it's expected to feature many of the biggest names in world soccer. England's first Group Stage game is the second game hosted in North Texas and will take place at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17, against Croatia. England is seeking its second World Cup trophy ever and the first since winning on their home soil over Germany in 1966. Croatia was one of the big success stories of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, defeating Japan and Brazil before ultimately falling to Argentina in the semifinals. Croatia finished third after defeating Morocco. Croatia also defeated England in the 2018 semifinal before losing the final to France. FC Dallas' Peter Musa is one of the Croatian players hoping to be called up for the official World Cup roster.

Third Group Stage Match - June 22

The third game in North Texas features Argentina and Austria at noon on Monday, June 22. Argentina plans to reveal its roster on May 30. The world is awaiting confirmation that the soon-to-be-39-year-old Lionel Messi will participate. After winning the 2022 World Cup, Messi moved to Miami to play in the MLS as the league's highest-paid player at more than $28 million per year. He's won dozens of trophies in his career, including the MLS Cup. Messi won his first international trophy in 2004, when he played for FC Barcelona for 17 seasons. Messi recently bought another soccer club in Barcelona. He would be at least 42 for the 2030 World Cup, so this is expected to be his last. Austria will train in Santa Barbara after qualifying for their first World Cup this century.

Fourth Group Stage Match - June 25

The next Group Stage game (June 25) in North Texas will be Japan's second at Dallas Stadium; they'll play Sweden, which qualified for one of the final spots in the tournament and will train in Frisco.

Japan advanced to the knockout stages in the last two World Cups; Sweden advanced in the previous four tournaments they participated in, most recently in Russia in 2018.

Fifth Group Stage Match - June 27

The final North Texas Group Stage game is on Saturday, June 27 at 9 p.m. between Argentina and Jordan. The match will be the second for Argentina in Arlington in the Group Stage.

Argentina is the favorite to advance out of Group J; Jordan is making their World Cup debut, with their first two games in the San Francisco Bay Area before coming to Texas.

Base camp sites

Team base camp sites are the primary training and operational headquarters for teams throughout the tournament, according to the North Texas FWC organizing committee. Several teams are expected to call North Texas home during the World Cup, including Czechia and Sweden.

Mansfield will also play host to Czechia's team training site, and fans from around the world are expected to gather in entertainment districts across the metroplex. Czechia's Group Stage games are against South Korea on June 11 in Mexico, South Africa on June 18 in Atlanta, and the Mexican National Team on June 24, also in Mexico.

Frisco's Toyota Stadium, the home of the MLS team FC Dallas, will host Sweden.

How teams advance

The top two teams in each group, based on play in the Group Stage, advance to the knockout stages, as well as the top-eight teams that finish third in their respective group. Fourth-place teams are automatically eliminated.

Dallas Stadium hosts two Round of 32 matches on June 30 and July 3, and a Round of 16 game on July 6.

The quarterfinals will be played in Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Kansas City between July 9 and 11.

Headed to a game?

Tickets for the July 14 semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, were listed at $11,130, $4,330, $3,710 and $2,705. Seats for the following day’s semifinal at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium were at $10,635, $3,545, and $2,725. The final is July 19 at New York/New Jersey Stadium.

Headed to a game in Arlington? Parking fees for the first match between the Netherlands and Japan are between $125 and $200, according to FIFA’s official parking platform, JustPark. The price for the semifinal on July 14 ranges from $200 to $275. FIFA says those fluctuating prices are based on market conditions.

The tournament is being held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.