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North Texas sees area of opportunity after AT&T Stadium misses out on 2026 World Cup Final

The World Cup Final will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Arlington will host nine matches.

ARLINGTON -- The frustration of missing out on the 2026 World Cup Final was quickly turned into an area of opportunity by prominent sports figures in North Texas: the greatest sporting event in the world is coming to the area. Nine times.

In an announcement worldwide, FIFA determined Sunday that MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., will host the final match of the World Cup. AT&T Stadium was awarded nine matches, including a semifinal.

No other stadium will host as many matches in what will be the largest World Cup to date: 48 teams in 104 matches, spread across three countries — the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The tournament’s opening match is June 11, 2026, at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Canada will play its first match June 12 at Toronto’s BMO Field, and the U.S. will begin its tournament the same day at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles.

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“This is a fabulous success,” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said at a news conference at AT&T Stadium after FIFA’s announcement. “We have nine games, and we will treat each of those games as if it were a final because we want to show the world what this region and this stadium is all about.”

Dallas Sports Commission executive director Monica Paul, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones...
Dallas Sports Commission executive director Monica Paul, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and FC Dallas owner Dan Hunt address a press conference at AT&T Stadium after the match schedule for FIFA World Cup 2026 was revealed via a televised announcement on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Arlington. AT&T Stadium missed out on the World Cup Final, but will host nine matches, the most in the tournament.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
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The U.S. will play its second group match June 18 in Seattle and third on June 25 again at SoFi. Mexico will play in Monterrey and again in Mexico City, while Canada’s final two group matches are in Vancouver.

AT&T Stadium will have five games in the group stage, the first scheduled for June 14. The stadium will host two matches in the round of 32, one in the round of 16 and the July 14 semifinal. Atlanta will host the other semifinal, and Miami was awarded the third-place match.

FC Dallas owner Dan Hunt, chairman of the Dallas organizing committee for the 2026 World Cup, stressed the importance of the nine matches that will be played at AT&T Stadium.

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“Just think about this: Out of nine games, we have four elimination round games, and we have a final match on the group stage, so you have five fixtures that are do or die that are going to happen in this magnificent theater,” Hunt said

“There will be more drama on this pitch than anywhere else in the entire World Cup. This is an incredible win for soccer fans in North Texas.”

Local leaders react to announcement AT&T Stadium will host 9 World Cup matches, but not 2026 final
Video: Local leaders react to announcement that AT&T Stadium missed out on the 2026 World Cup Final, but will host nine matches, the most in the tournament.

Monica Paul, the executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission who has worked hard to bring the World Cup to North Texas, was surprised when she heard that AT&T would not host the final.

“It feels a little disappointing, but to host a semifinal and nine matches is great,” Paul said.

“I would have liked to say that we were going to host the finals, but honestly, we never imagined that we would have nine games. Being the only region with nine matches is just a big win altogether, and we are going to put together the best World Cup we can.”

Paul said that the projections of the World Cup’s economic impact on the region will probably be higher than initially expected.

Paul said that a team of economists will analyze what it means to have nine games in the region, and that in a couple of months new projections will be made regarding any lasting economic impact of the World Cup games in North Texas.

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Legendary Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith voiced his frustration, too, but he also praised the efforts to bring so many matches to North Texas.

“If we missed the final, it was not because of a lack of work, or because we don’t have quality sports, quality fields, and quality infrastructure, we have all that,” Smith said. “We are a city of champions.”

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