Fans walk around the FIFA Fan Festival as Canada takes on Bosnia and Herzegovina during the FIFA World Cup 2026 which was streamed at the Fan Festival in Houston, Thursday, June 11, 2026.
Jacob Lujan/Houston Chronicle
Attendees watch as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Portugal’s match is streamed live at the FIFA 2026 World Cup Fan Festival in EaDo, Houston, June 17, 2026.
Jacob Lujan/Houston Chronicle
Soccer fans walk from the World Cup Fan Fest at the end of the day’s matches in Houston, Sunday, June 28, 2026.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle
Argentina fans react after their team scores its second goal as Argentina faces England in the Semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup which was streamed to attendees of the Fan Festival in EaDo, Houston, Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
Jacob Lujan/Houston Chronicle
Houston FIFA fans attend a watch party, mostly supporting Mexico as they take on England during World Cup action at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston on Sunday, July 5, 2026.
Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle
Roommates Joseph Carranza and Roger Rodulfo might be huge soccer fans, but their expectations for the Houston World Cup experience ahead of the tournament weren’t that high.
“I thought it was gonna be a whole mess,” Rodulfo said.
But as they stood in line to get into Pitch 25 ahead of Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup final, Carranza, 23, and Rodulfo, 24, both said that wasn’t the case. Their World Cup experience over the previous six weeks had been not only quite memorable but also consistent and organized.
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They weren’t the only ones celebrating one final World Cup match Sunday in EaDo who came away from the tournament with praise for Houston’s environment.
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“The fact that the city was able to just keep up, that was really awesome to see,” Carranza said. “Everybody was buzzing about it.”
The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off June 11 — nearly seven weeks ago — in Mexico City with Houston’s first match coming three days later on June 14. Six more matches followed, including two games featuring global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and a fantastic knockout stage match between Brazil and Japan.
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But the matches were only part of the equation in Houston. Restaurants, parks and organizations held watch parties across the region. Metro ran increased service. EaDo, thanks to FIFA Fan Fest, Shell Energy Stadium and its collection of sports bars, became a hub for fans.
Brittany McDonald, a 28-year-old attorney who lives in the neighborhood, attended World Cup fan experiences in Europe during the 2018 World Cup. Houston’s festivities were very similar to those, she noted, just more American.
She expected traffic to be really bad in the EaDo throughout the tournament but that wasn’t her experience. In fact, she said it has been convenient having so much activity near her home.
“You don’t expect having this kind of experience in your backyard,” McDonald said.
Diego Zegarra waited in line for around three hours Sunday for one last FIFA Fan Fest day.
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The festival was one of only a few around the country that had been scheduled to be open every matchday of the tournament, although Houston’s World Cup host committee canceled or partially canceled a few days due to weather.
Zegarra, 34, said what will stick with him the most from the World Cup is watching people come to Houston and getting a new perspective about what the U.S. is about.
“It was always a happy environment,” Zegarra said. “Seeing people from all over the world, all cultures, all following one single passion was pretty cool.”
While the overall messages from fans were positive, there were some complaints.
Qais Shaban attended matches at Reliant Stadium, AT&T Stadium in Arlington and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.. He said the Houston experience was the worst of the three, saying the process of leaving Reliant Stadium was a “nightmare” compared to the other two stadiums. He also wished Fan Fest had been placed in a different location with less traffic.
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But even with those critiques, Shaban, 29, still gave Houston’s World Cup experience an eight out of 10.
“The fans make it a better experience,” Shaban said. “There’s always something fun going on.”
Luis Montoya found himself in a unique position to evaluate the Houston World Cup experience. The 35-year-old moved to the area about a month ago, right in the middle of World Cup fervor, to work on a six-month project.
It had been a fun month, highlighted by the Mexico matches that brought thousands of fans out to EaDo and other venues across Houston.
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When asked if his remaining time in the city will be able to live up to his first month in Houston, Montoya was honest.
“No, probably not,” Montaya said. “Definitely no.”