Some of the world’s best soccer players will take the field in Houston this summer, when 2026 FIFA World Cup matches are held at NRG Stadium. Another Houston venue will also host high-level soccer matches with an international flair.
The Houston Dynamo will host friendly matches against an assortment of international club teams during the 2026 World Cup, Jessica O’Neill, president of business operations for the Dynamo and the Houston Dash, told Chron on Tuesday. The matches will be held at Shell Energy Stadium in East Downtown, the home turf for the Dynamo and Dash. Neither the opponents nor the game dates were revealed on Tuesday, though an official announcement for the international club matches is expected later this month.
“When we can use the pitch, we will have a couple of friendly matches that we haven’t yet announced but we’ve very excited about that,” O’Neill said. “We’re trying to get our team and our players in front of visitors and residents that are coming down to East Downtown.”
Shell Energy Stadium will be open to the public for much of the World Cup, beginning June 11 and ending July 19 (Houston’s last World Cup contest will be a Round of 16 match on July 4). One yet-to-be-determined nation will use Shell Energy Stadium as a training facility on scattered days during the World Cup. Shell Energy Stadium will serve as a fan hub for the World Cup on other days, an addendum to the FIFA Fan Festival that will be held across East Downtown.
“There will be a number of days that we need to shut down as FIFA is using the facility for a team that’s training there ahead of one of their games [in Houston], but if we can be open, we’ll be open,” O’Neill said. “When we’re open, stadium tours, concessions, restrooms in or out of the path from Fan Fest, which is just going to be right next door, and FIFA is going to be heavily investing in it with the Host Committee.
“We’ll have programming for the youth soccer community, we’ll have some influencer and media opportunities. If you can think of it, we will have it. We can’t wait.”
Houston’s final World Cup match will be a Round of 16 matchup on July 4. The Dynamo do not return to the pitch from a two-month break in the Major League Soccer (MLS) calendar until July 22, allowing the club to use international friendlies as de facto warm-up games before the season resumes.