England fans flood Dallas ahead of World Cup opener against Croatia

England supporters streamed into North Texas ahead of a World Cup opener that doubled as an early test of how well the United States can stage football’s biggest tournament. England were set to face Croatia at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, at 3:00 p.m. local time, 9:00 p.m. BST, in front of a venue listed at 94,000 seats.

The scale of the buildup underlined why Dallas matters beyond one group match. FIFA says the 2026 tournament is the first 48-team World Cup and is on course to top the 3.5 million attendance record set in 1994, while Dallas Stadium is scheduled to host nine matches in all, including a semi-final on 14 July.

Up to 15,000 England fans were expected in Dallas for the opener, arriving by plane, train and car from places as far apart as Leeds, Kansas City, Spain, Scandinavia and Australia. Downtown Dallas also saw Croatia fans staging a parade and cultural celebration, a sign that the city had become a meeting point for two traveling fan bases before a ball was kicked.

The matchup carried heavy history. England and Croatia last met at a World Cup in Moscow in 2018, when Croatia won 2-1 after extra time in the semi-final and moved on to the final. Croatia later finished third at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and the result in Moscow remains one of the defining recent blows in England’s tournament record. England’s group also included Ghana and Panama, but Croatia was the opponent that drew the sharpest attention.

For Dallas and the wider host cities, the question was not only who won on the pitch. It was how a major American metro handled the pressure of global scrutiny, with huge crowds, heavy travel, and the expectations that come with a venue hosting nine World Cup matches. The first answer was already visible in Arlington: a packed stadium, a flood of overseas supporters, and a city being judged long before the knockout rounds arrive.