AT&T Stadium

AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (capacity 80,000) hosts 9 matches at the FIFA World Cup 2026, including a semi-final, making it one of the two most-used venues in the tournament. The stadium opened in 2009 as the home of the Dallas Cowboys and holds the record for one of the largest video display boards in world sport, suspended end zone to end zone above the field.

The retractable roof and fully climate-controlled interior are critical features for June and July in North Texas, where temperatures regularly exceed 38 degrees Celsius. Dallas also staged World Cup football in 1994 at the Cotton Bowl, where Germany played their group stage as defending world champions. AT&T Stadium’s 80,000 capacity places it as the second-largest venue at 2026, behind only Estadio Azteca.

The IANA timezone is America/Chicago, UTC-5 during Central Daylight Time across the tournament. Dallas and Houston share the same offset. A 20:00 kickoff at AT&T Stadium is 21:00 in New York, 01:00 in London, and 09:00 in Tokyo. Central time is the sweetest spot for live European viewers: 19:00 local starts land at midnight in the UK and 01:00 in Central Europe.

AT&T Stadium sits in Arlington, roughly midway between Dallas and Fort Worth. There is no direct rail connection from central Dallas, so visitors should plan for ride-share or a rental car.

That match load makes AT&T Stadium one of the two venues hosting the most fixtures in the entire tournament.

World Cup History

Dallas hosted World Cup football in 1994 at the Cotton Bowl, a historic venue in Fair Park that had been part of the city’s sporting fabric since the 1930s. The 1994 tournament was the United States’ first as host, and Dallas was among its most prominent venues.

Germany played their group stage matches at the Cotton Bowl in 1994. They came into that tournament as defending world champions, having won in Italy four years earlier. Germany progressed through the group stage in Dallas before eventually falling to Bulgaria in the quarter-finals in a different city. Spain also played in Dallas that summer, in the same group.

The Cotton Bowl hosted a round of 16 match as the tournament progressed into the knockout phase, cementing Dallas as one of the more consequential venues of that edition.

AT&T Stadium, which opened in 2009, is a completely different proposition from the Cotton Bowl: covered, climate-controlled, and nearly twice the capacity. It represents a step change in what the Dallas area can offer a World Cup. A semi-final here in 2026 will be the biggest match this region has hosted since 1994.