ARLINGTON, Texas — The end came at 3:59 p.m., with exultant Spain players shouting and looking skyward and anguished France counterparts dropping to their knees.
Thanks to its suffocating defense, world No. 3 Spain’s 2-0 toppling of No. 1 France in Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal in Dallas Stadium lacked the drama many expected, but the matchlong atmosphere was nonetheless electric.
Spain moves on to face Wednesday’s Argentina-England winner in Sunday’s World Cup final in New York New Jersey Stadium, but North Texas’ tournament-most nine-game run ended with Tuesday’s final whistle and explosion of cheers from La Roja faithful.
“In our case, we are responsible for this joy that people are feeling in the streets,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said after his team received a congratulatory call from Spanish King Felipe VI. “We are a country united for a common cause.”
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History will show that in the most consequential soccer game in North Texas annals, French superstar Kylian Mbappé was stifled by a Spanish defense that’s yielded one goal in seven 2026 World Cup matches.
And the record will show that nine matches in the home of the Dallas Cowboys drew 631,843 fans and produced 29 goals and countless indelible memories — on and off the pitch — for North Texans and perhaps as many as 4 million visitors.
“I told FIFA when they were here in 2021 that we do things bigger and better in Texas, especially here in Dallas,” said North Texas FIFA World Cup organizing committee co-chair Dan Hunt, whose father, Lamar, was co-chair of Dallas’ 1994 World Cup organizing committee.
“I think they now recognize that’s how we do things.”
Among the near-sellout crowd was a glittering array of stars that included American-French actor Timothée Chalamet; Spanish actor Javier Bardem; Sir David Beckham and wife Victoria of England; and Jamaican track star Usain Bolt.
Most in the stadium probably expected at least one goal from Mbappé, especially after fellow superstars Lionel Messi of Argentina, Erling Haaland of Norway and Harry Kane of England all scored here during this World Cup.
But Mbappé and France suffered the same fate here as did seventh-ranked Portugal and 41-year-old star Cristiano Ronaldo, just eight days earlier.
“Being here, in this moment, is incredible,” said Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored Spain’s first goal Tuesday, in the 22nd minute, and earlier this week pushed back against negative media commentary about La Roja’s chances.
“I said what I said because it was truly how I felt. For us, the most important thing was keeping a positive mindset, so we could take this huge step today.”
For this monthlong run as one of the 2026 World Cup’s 16 host venues across the United States, Mexico and Canada, AT&T Stadium was temporarily renamed Dallas Stadium to satisfy FIFA’s corporate sponsor guidelines.
Since its 2009 opening, the stadium has hosted an array of major sporting events.
The 2010 NBA All-Star Game. The 2011 Super Bowl. The 2014 NCAA Final Four. The inaugural College Football Playoff title game in 2015. And WrestleMania in 2016 and 2022.
“I think we found out over the last few weeks that there’s nothing like a World Cup,” said Cowboys vice president of business operations Chad Estis.
“When we started this, FIFA told us, ‘Get ready for 100 Super Bowls.’ I don’t know if I totally align with that, but [Tuesday’s semifinal] feels like a Super Bowl.”
Icy weather hampered 2010’s NBA All-Star weekend and the following February’s Super Bowl week, but Mother Nature’s only effect during the monthlong World Cup was North Texas’ typical June and July heat.
Which of course was a nonissue during matches in the climate-controlled stadium. In part to make sure it was extra-ready for this World Cup, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones signed off on a $350 million “refresh” that was completed last year.
The reaction of many international fans, looking wide-eyed while walking through the concourses and gawking at the gargantuan videoboard, was reminiscent of local fans in the stadium’s early years.
“For me personally, it’s been fun to walk our stadium and see people that have never seen a stadium like that and be in awe of everything,” Estis said. “There’s a reputation of our stadium that we’re proud of — and I think it met the moment.”
North Texas FIFA World Cup organizing committee members expressed similar sentiments about the region in general.
For more than a month, Dallas’ Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center has hosted about 2,000 media workers from around the world in the 485,000-square-foot International Broadcast Center.
Local, state and federal government officials collaborated to ensure smooth operation logistics like security, emergency preparedness and transportation.
North Texas’ host role isn’t quite over. The FIFA Fan Festival, open for 34 days in a 39-day span, will be fully operational for fans who want to watch Saturday’s third-place match in Miami and Sunday’s championship game.
“Over these past several weeks, fans from every corner of the globe filled our stadiums, our parks, our restaurants, our neighborhoods, our hotels and our hearts,” said Monica Paul, president of North Texas’ organizing committee and executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission.
“Different languages were spoken. Different flags were waved. Different songs were sung.
“Yet everyone shared something in common: a love for the beautiful game, and a belief that sport has the power to unite us all. Dallas has always been known for thinking big, but this summer, we didn’t just think big. We welcomed the world in a way that reflected the very best of who we are.”
Before Tuesday, the most high-profile soccer match in North Texas history occurred July 9, 1994, when Brazil beat Netherlands 3-2 in the quarterfinals in Cotton Bowl, the last of six matches played there that year.
Teenager Dan was a ballboy during that World Cup. He hasn’t missed a World Cup since 1986, along with older brother Clark keeping alive the Hunt family’s passion for all things soccer.
It was their father who after watching England win the 1966 World Cup decided to start a professional league in America, the NASL, and to co-found one of its teams, the Dallas Tornado.
That league folded in 1985, but the 1994 World Cup in America spawned a new league Lamar helped originate, the MLS. It began with 10 teams and now has 30, including FC Dallas in Frisco and teams in Austin and Houston.
“America wasn’t ready for the ’94 World Cup,” Dan said. “So few people really actually knew that it was happening, if you look at those attendance numbers, although it’s the most financially successful of all time forever, until this World Cup.
“You now have a nation that is engaged in soccer in a way that they have never been before. It is viewership. It is ticket sales. It is sponsorship.
“So I think this will be a steppingstone for the next step forward. I leave this World Cup knowing that one thing for sure: America is now truly a soccer nation.”
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