The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off this week, and no region in America is closer to the action than North Texas.
Frisco already feels it. Sweden's national team has set up its tournament base camp at Toyota Stadium, drawing thousands of fans to public training sessions. Forty minutes south, AT&T Stadium in Arlington will host nine matches, more than any other venue in the tournament, including a semifinal on July 14.
There is a local thread on the field, too. Weston McKennie, raised in neighboring Little Elm and developed in the FC Dallas academy, was named to the 26-player United States roster under head coach Mauricio Pochettino. The Juventus midfielder, capped 64 times with 12 international goals, gives the American engine room a distinctly North Texas accent.
The United States opens Group D play Friday against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, then meets Australia and Turkiye to close the group stage on June 19 in Seattle and June 25 back in Los Angeles. It is the first men's World Cup on American soil since 1994.
Our sister publication LittleElm.city has the full hometown feature on McKennie's road from the FC Dallas academy to Juventus and the World Cup.