Billy Bob’s Texas went quiet as heads tilted up and eyes locked onto the LED screen in anticipation of the official FIFA World Cup 2026 groups to be announced.
The Fort Worth music venue served as an official partner broadcasting the Dec. 5 final draw live from the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
One by one names of qualifying teams were called as the nearly 2,000 soccer fans inside the venue erupted into cheers.
Forty eight national teams have been split into 12 groups of four for the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming to North America next summer. Six empty team slots will be filled once the European playoffs take place in March.
Arlington will host the largest number of World Cup matches at nine. The exact schedule of which teams will play at AT&T Stadium — which will be redubbed Dallas Stadium during the games — won’t be announced until tomorrow, but there are some projections based on the group draw.
Those teams include Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, Ukraine, Sweden, Poland or Albania, England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama, Argentina, Algeria, Austria and Jordan.
Mayor Mattie Parker said city leaders have been preparing for the World Cup to come to the region for a long time and look forward to rolling out that “true Fort Worth hospitality.”
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Arlington reporter Chris Moss contributed reporting.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
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