England arrives in Dallas for World Cup match; fans gather at pubs to celebrate

DALLAS - England arrived in North Texas for their 2026 FIFA World Cup match against Croatia at Dallas Stadium.

Team England’s arrival

What we know:

The team landed at Dallas-Love Field Airport around 4:30 p.m. after a morning training session at their home base in Kansas City. The players and coaches then boarded their bus to a hotel in Dallas.

Meanwhile, English fans gathered at restaurants and pubs like Seven Doors Kitchen in The Colony, the Londoner Pub on Mockingbird Lane in Dallas, and City Tavern in Downtown Dallas to celebrate before the match.

What they're saying:

"Singing, drinking, making noise, and being in good spirits," said John Tobin, who is from England near Manchester.

"There's nothing better than singing in unison with loads of England fans. I've done a lot of fun things in my life, but when you're around these lot, you just feel like one big family. It's unreal. It's great," added Brandon Potter, an England fan who lives near London.

A few of the fans also commented on the Texas heat. They were glad to be indoors for their celebration.

"Oh, it's great! It's really warm! So warm, we don't heat like this at home. It's absolutely boiling and I can't breathe. It's so hot. It's so hot," said Ruby Hudson, an 18-year-old fan here from England with her father.

At Seven Doors Kitchen, FOX 4 found one fan who now calls Dallas home. She wasn't able to get tickets to the game but wanted to enjoy being around fellow fans. It brought a feeling of joy and nostalgia for her.

"I just want England to finally, finally win. And bring it home. It's great. It's going to be fantastic if they do win because the atmosphere is absolutely great. They will enjoy it and the crowds. Just being in the with crowds, it just makes you happy," Mel Eddington said.

She and others who don't have tickets are hoping to find a pub to watch Wednesday afternoon's game.

England vs. Croatia at Dallas Stadium

Big picture view:

All eyes are on this matchup as the English "Three Lions" look to even the score with Croatia after a heartbreaking loss in 2018.

In the semi-final of the World Cup in Moscow, the Croatian team took out the giant England 2-1 in extra time. England went home just short of competing for a title.

The two teams have met since then, with England beating Croatia in their last two competitive matches.

And this time around, England is favored to win. The squad, led by superstar Harry Kane, won all eight of its qualifying matches without allowing a single goal.

Many experts predict they’ll at least make it to the quarterfinals.

What they're saying:

"Ultimately, I think from our point of view, we feel like when we're at our very best we're an extremely tough team to beat both from a physical point of view and a technical point of view. We're always going to go into each game respecting the opponent but ultimately trying to play in our way and in our style," said Kane, England's forward.

What's next:

England and Croatia will face off at 3 p.m. on Wednesday at Dallas Stadium.

English super fan tries Tex-Mex for the first time

FOX 4’s Amelia Jones met up with an English super fan, Andy Milne, and his friend, Stuart Kenyon, at the Mi Cocina restaurant at Dallas’ Klyde Warren Park on Monday.

Amelia interviewed Milne back in March after he sold his house to help fund his World Cup trip. He told her he was looking forward to trying Tex-Mex and frozen margaritas.

What they're saying:

Neither of the Englishmen had tried chips and queso before, and they enjoyed their first taste. "Oh wow, that's lovely, that's amazing!"

Everything else got high marks, except for maybe the ranch water they tried.

They both said they are looking forward to Wednesday’s game at Dallas Stadium and hopefully a tournament title.

FIFA World CupSports