One World Cup match is left in North Texas, and it will send a country to the final.
Nowhere else on the continent got more World Cup soccer than Arlington, Texas, and the city’s reward for hosting the most matches of any 2026 host is a semifinal spot that already has a confirmed star-studded team waiting – and one still being decided.
France booked its ticket to Arlington first. Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé scored second-half goals Thursday in Boston as France knocked off Morocco 2-0 in an opening quarterfinal, extending a run in which France has yet to trail in five matches and has outscored their opponents 14-2, per FIFA.
That result alone made Tuesday’s date at Dallas Stadium a lock on the schedule; the only question was who France would be facing. That will be answered at the quarterfinal in California on July 10, where Spain and Belgium battle for the second semifinal spot.
Spain enters unbeaten in 35 straight matches and hasn’t allowed a goal through five games, while Belgium carries an 18-match unbeaten run of its own and is fresh off eliminating the United States 4-1 in the round of 16. Whichever side survives in California flies to Texas to face a French team that hasn’t been seriously tested since the group stage.
Dallas Stadium has done a lot of heavy lifting for this World Cup, and it’s been that way from day one.
Eight countries in total played group-stage games in Arlington before the knockout rounds even started. The stadium’s World Cup run opened with a Netherlands-Japan draw, then Japan and Sweden played to a 1-1 finish that sent both teams through to the round of 32.
And the knockout rounds only raised the stakes.
Norway pulled off a round-of-32 upset of Ivory Coast at Dallas Stadium, with goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland making a late save to hold on to the win, as previously reported by DX. That Norwegian squad has since gone on a run nobody predicted, knocking out Brazil in the round of 16 before facing England Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium – a reminder of how unpredictable this bracket has been.
Then, on July 6, Dallas Stadium hosted its lone round-of-16 match, a rematch of sorts between Spain and Portugal that ended what may have been Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup appearance with a late stoppage-time goal.
What Else Is Happening Around the Bracket
France and the Spain-Belgium winner have Tuesday in Arlington locked up, but the other side of the bracket is still up for grabs.
Norway meets England Saturday in Miami – Erling Haaland and his tournament-leading scoring streak against an England side that’s deeper everywhere else and already into its third straight quarterfinal.
Argentina and Switzerland follow later that day in Kansas City, with the defending champs still riding the high of their wild comeback against Egypt. Those two winners face off Wednesday in Atlanta for the last ticket to the final, set for July 19 at MetLife Stadium.
What to Expect Tuesday
Kickoff is 2 p.m. local time on Tuesday, July 14, for the semi-final showdown in Arlington. Whoever comes out of Friday’s Spain-Belgium match will have just three days to get to Texas and figure out how to slow down a French team that hasn’t looked rattled once this tournament.
Provided by Dallas Express
