Billy Bob鈥檚 Texas went quiet as heads tilted up and eyes locked onto the LED screen in anticipation of the official FIFA World Cup 2026 groups to be announced.
The Fort Worth music venue served as an official partner broadcasting the Dec. 5 final draw live from the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
One by one names of qualifying teams were called as the nearly 2,000 soccer fans inside the venue erupted into cheers.
Forty eight national teams have been split into 12 groups of four for the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming to North America next summer. Six empty team slots will be filled once the European playoffs take place in March.
Arlington will host the largest number of World Cup matches at nine. The exact schedule of which teams will play at AT&T Stadium 鈥� which will be redubbed Dallas Stadium during the games 鈥� won鈥檛 be announced until tomorrow, but there are some projections based on the group draw.
Those teams include Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, Ukraine, Sweden, Poland or Albania, England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama, Argentina, Algeria, Austria and Jordan.
Mayor Mattie Parker said city leaders have been preparing for the World Cup to come to the region for a long time and look forward to rolling out that 鈥渢rue Fort Worth hospitality.鈥�
North Texas regional leaders project to the area when visit Dallas-Fort Worth for the World Cup next year.
Soccer brings Fort Worth together
Watching the World Cup drawing live at Billy Bob鈥檚 was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for friends Dora Caro, Silvana Jim and Paloma Diaz. The trio said they loved the national pride represented within the venue, including the U.S., Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.
鈥淪eeing so many different soccer fans come together in peace was so beautiful,鈥� Caro, who was born in Colombia, said in Spanish. 鈥淭his sport unites so many countries.鈥�
Caro is looking forward to her home country facing off against Uzbekistan in June, but she鈥檚 holding her breath since she believes it鈥檒l be a tough match.
One of Sonia Ellis鈥� favorite parts about any World Cup is learning more about other cultures.
Ellis, who grew up in Brazil, attended the 2006 tournament in Germany and walked away with a deeper understanding of how other communities celebrate their wins.
She hopes to see love for the sport grow in the North Texas region come next summer.
鈥淭he music, the food, the dancing in the streets and just the camaraderie is a lot of fun,鈥� Ellis said.
Editor鈥檚 note: This story was updated Dec. 5 to include reactions from soccer fans at Billy Bob鈥檚.
Arlington reporter Chris Moss contributed reporting.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or .
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy .
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