The past two days have unleashed a new level of FIFA fever in North Texas. “I mean– I just, it was elation,” said Dan Hunt, FC Dallas President Dallas FIFA World Cup 2026 Co-Chair. Hunt said North Texas’ match schedule is a match made in heaven. “The elation that I feel after t hese match selections is– this is way beyond my wildest dreams of what could have happened,” he said. Teams were placed into groups during Friday’s draw, with final matchups set on Saturday. ATT stadium will host the Netherlands v. Japan, England v. Croatia, Argentina v. Austria, Japan v. Playoff winner, and Jordan v. Argentina in June’s group matches. Hunt said he was excited about big teams with big fandoms who are likely to make the trip to the Metroplex. “I think Argentina will bring in the most fans. It’s easy, Buenos Aires direct, so that wouldn’t shock me,” he said. “The Dutch travel in huge numbers too, and obviously England travels in huge numbers.” Hunt, who has been a lifelong soccer fan himself, said aside from the economic impact of the matchups, he expects good games. “We got nine matches in a semi-final, and now we have the greatest group stage matches I’ve ever seen,” he said. And, depending on how the U.S. Men’s National Team plays, we may also see them land in DFW. “So, look, I just, this couldn’t have turned out any better. It is– this was– I couldn’t have even dreamt of this,” Hunt said. Another possibility: FC Dallas Striker, Petar Musa, who is playing on the Croatia national team, is expected to return to North Texas to play Croatia’s World Cup match against England. “Could you imagine having a hometown pro, who’s a super talent in the league, playing World Cup matches in Dallas? That would be amazing,” Hunt said. “Hopefully represent FC Dallas on the biggest stage, you know,” Petar said in an interview with FC Dallas after Friday’s draw. Petar said his Croatian teammates were already asking questions about the United States. “How is the, you know, stadium, facilities, the crowd and everything?” he said. North Texas’ facilities are already being scouted by the world’s top soccer teams for training sites, according to Hunt. “We saw eight of the top 10 teams in the world before the draw. And I believe 15 or 16 of the top 20 came to see us and the rest were waiting to schedule their visits. Now we have returned visits already being scheduled as we speak,” he said. Hunt said they’re looking at five main sites, including Toyota Stadium, University of North Texas, and Texas Christian University. “Right now, we are already being scheduled by multiple national teams,” he said. While Friday’s draw was random, Saturday’s selections were handpicked by FIFA. “We’ve tried to basically strike the right balance, looking at the… preparation, the recovery that the teams have to do in this… very large footprint, the biggest World Cup ever,” said Manolo Zubiria, FIFA World Cup Chief Tournament Officer (USA), during the schedule reveal. Hunt said North Texas came out on top, thanks to its leaders making a good pitch. “I think there was a belief in us that we could pull off these games on the grandest scale in Dallas. And so, I am so excited to deliver this to my fellow citizens here and also my fellow Texans,” he said. Hunt reminded fans to only purchase tickets from FIFA. “They do not allow for the secondary market tickets to be sold and individuals cannot resell directly to other individuals. Your names are actually printed on the tickets,” he said. ...read more read less