Michael Adkison/Houston Public Media
Hundreds of soccer fans came to Little Woodrow’s east downtown location to watch as groups were selected for the 2026 World Cup.
Jaime Berber is a devoted soccer fan, but he hadn’t planned to attend a Houston watch party for the FIFA World Cup final draw. Nonetheless, that’s where he ended up on a brisk Friday morning.
“I’m driving here for a gaming event that my brother has right next door,” he said, standing in Little Woodrow’s, a sports bar in East Downtown, hundreds of miles from his home in Austin. “I just saw a crowd over here, and I saw a big soccer ball outside. So, I figured, let me go check this out while he’s doing his thing. And now I may be stuck here for the entire day.”
He’s one of hundreds of people who gathered at Little Woodrow’s to watch FIFA make random selections for the four-team groups that will compete in next summer’s World Cup being hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with Houston’s NRG Stadium set to host a total of seven matches. Friday’s event in Washington, D.C. was one of the last major steps before the tournament begins on June 11, 2026, in Mexico City as countries are picked for 12 different groups which will face off at the start of the World Cup.
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Houston will host five group-stage matches and two knockout round games. Teams from Groups E, F, H and K will play in Houston, meaning that local soccer fans could see matches involving Germany, Spain, Portugal, Colombia and more.
“Their fans are going to be here, their teams are going to be here, all the support comes with them,” said Ryan Walsh, the CEO of the Harris County/Houston Sports Authority. “For us, it’s a $1.5 billion estimated economic impact, which is massive. If you think about that in perspective, the Super Bowl in 2017 was about a $350 million economic impact.”
Michael Adkison/Houston Public Media
Gladys Torres, wearing her Lionel Messi Argentina jersey, watches as the groups are selected for the 2026 World Cup.
For 11 a.m. on a Friday, Little Woodrow’s was packed. Gladys Torres, a 70-year-old woman, stood in front of a crowd of dedicated soccer fans, wearing a Lionel Messi jersey from Argentina, which won the last World Cup in 2022.
“I like to cheer Argentina, Mexico, whatever, but of course I go for Argentina, especially for Messi,” she said. “My Messi, I love him. I hope that one day I can see him. I can die happy after that.”
Argentina’s team will not be coming to Houston, based on how Friday’s draw shook out. But Torres remained excited about the upcoming tournament, noting that this could be the last World Cup played in the United States during her lifetime.
The U.S. last hosted the World Cup more than 30 years ago in 1994. The opportunity to watch the final draw on Friday was too good to pass up for some fans, like Hermen, who did not share his last name because he was skipping work to be there.
“Football is a language, it’s a culture, it’s heritage,” he said. “You see the ball playing? It’s a sport of the people.”
Fans at Little Woodrow’s could take pictures with replicas of the coveted World Cup trophy. Jennifer Arellano took one before speaking with Houston Public Media.
“It’s such an exciting moment for Houston in general,” she said. “It’s such a diverse city. And I grew up watching soccer with my dad. He couldn’t be here, but at least I could make him happy and enjoy this experience.”
Here are the teams that could appear in Houston during the group stage:
Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Côte d’Ivoire and Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia and the winner of Playoff B (team hasn’t been determined)
Group H: Spain, Cabo Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay
Group K: Portugal, Uzbekistan, Colombia and the winner of Playoff 1 (team hasn’t been determined)
A team from Group F also could play in a knockout round game in Houston, as could teams from Groups A, B and C. Those groups include Mexico, South Africa, Korea Republic, Canada, Qatar, Switzerland, Brazil, Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.