Expensive England and Croatia match in Dallas opens a new question for FIFA: will empty seats overshadow one of Group L's derbies?
The match between England and Croatia, one of the most high-profile clashes of the opening part of Group L at the 2026 World Cup, could become a new point of contention in the debate over ticket prices for the biggest football tournament. According to the British Daily Mail, hundreds of seats are still available for the match that will be played on 17 June 2026 at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, even though FIFA simultaneously emphasizes that demand for tickets for the tournament is record-breaking. The same outlet states that the cheapest remaining tickets for that clash are being sold for approximately 867 US dollars, while some VIP and hospitality packages exceed 9,000 dollars. FIFA has not officially confirmed those specific figures for the England - Croatia match, so they should be viewed as media-published data on current availability and prices on the ticket market. If it turns out that even one of the more attractive group matches cannot fill the stands, criticism of the expensive and variable ticket sales policy could gain additional weight.
A clash of major sporting significance in a large but demanding stadium
According to FIFA's official match centre, England and Croatia play their Group L match in Dallas on Wednesday, 17 June 2026, and the host venue is Dallas Stadium. The Football Association states in its schedule that the stadium is located in Arlington, in the state of Texas, and that this is the England national team's first match at the tournament. The Croatian Football Federation also states in the national team's schedule that Croatia's next match is precisely the match against England in Dallas. Group L consists of England, Croatia, Ghana and Panama, which means that the result of the first round will have an important impact on the continuation of the fight to advance to the knockout stage. In the new format of the 2026 World Cup, the two best national teams from each of the 12 groups advance, along with the eight best third-placed teams, so the first match does not have to be decisive, but it can significantly shape the pressure in the remaining two rounds.
Dallas Stadium has a capacity of about 94,000 seats, according to data from the FIFA World Cup 26 Dallas organizing committee. It is one of the largest stadiums of the tournament and a venue that will have a particularly important role during the World Cup because Dallas has been awarded a large number of matches, including knockout-stage encounters. Such capacity gives the organizers a major commercial opportunity, but also a risk: every larger empty area in the stands is more visible than at smaller stadiums. For the England and Croatia match, interest should be high, judging by the sporting significance of the clash and the history of their head-to-head meetings. That is precisely why information about unsold seats is attracting attention even beyond the narrow circle of fans planning a trip to Texas.
High prices at the centre of the debate
The price of about 867 dollars for the cheapest available ticket, cited by the Daily Mail, is many times higher than the level many fans would expect for a group-stage match, even when it involves two European national teams with major football reputations. FIFA previously introduced a special Supporter Entry Tier category, with tickets starting at 60 dollars for all 104 matches, but that category is limited and intended for supporter allocations, and it does not mean that such prices will appear in general sale for every interested buyer profile. FIFA states in its sales rules that tickets depend on availability, sales phase, category and product, which is important for understanding why the market price of individual matches can differ considerably from initial promotional amounts. A particularly sensitive issue has become the use of variable, or dynamic, pricing, where the amount can rise or fall depending on demand. Such a model is common in part of the American sports and entertainment industry, but for an international football championship it has triggered strong resistance from fan organizations.
Anadolu Ajansı reported that average ticket prices for 2026 group-stage matches are significantly higher than at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and that a dynamic pricing model is being used for the first time. The same agency states that fan groups have criticized the lack of transparency regarding availability, prices and seating arrangements. Football Supporters Europe and Euroconsumers filed a complaint with the European Commission in March 2026, claiming that FIFA, because of its monopoly position in ticket sales, is imposing excessively high prices and unfair purchase terms. According to their joint statement, dynamic pricing turns fan loyalty into a contest in which the cost increases without added value. FIFA, on the other hand, emphasizes exceptional demand in official communications and has previously reported hundreds of millions of ticket requests during the random selection phase.
Record demand does not mean a full stadium at every match
At first glance, it may seem contradictory that FIFA speaks of record global demand while reports are simultaneously emerging about available seats for attractive matches. However, that is not necessarily illogical. Demand at tournament level can be enormous, while an individual match in a specific city, time slot and price range can have a sales problem. A buyer does not decide only according to the sporting name of the opponent, but also according to the total cost of travel, accommodation, local transport, the timing of the match and the possibility of finding several matches in the same area. In the case of the England and Croatia match, it is a match in Dallas, during the working week, in a stadium with a large capacity and with prices that, according to available media information, are very high for many people. For visitors who nevertheless plan to travel, practical information is also important, including accommodation in Dallas and around the stadium, because the total cost of going to the match far exceeds the ticket itself.
Similar debates already appeared at the very beginning of the tournament, after spectators and media noticed empty seats at some early matches. That does not necessarily mean that official attendance was low, because the number of tickets sold or distributed does not have to fully match the number of people who actually sat in the stands. Still, the television image of empty seats can strongly influence the perception of the tournament, especially when it is an event that FIFA presents as the biggest and commercially most successful in history. For the organizers, it is therefore crucial that stadiums look full, and for fans that prices do not create the impression that the World Cup has become an event reserved only for buyers with very high budgets. The broader context of the England and Croatia match lies precisely in that tension.
The sporting weight of the match further increases the pressure
England and Croatia are not an ordinary pairing in the first round of the group. Croatia, according to FIFA's national team profile, was a finalist at the 2018 World Cup and the third-placed team at the 2022 tournament, making it one of the most successful national teams of the last two editions of the competition. England enters the tournament with the ambition of winning a second world title, and The Football Association states that Thomas Tuchel's team wants to add a second star to the shirt in North America. The clash also has a strong historical foundation because of the 2018 World Cup semi-final, when Croatia defeated England after extra time and reached the final. Such a background usually increases demand rather than reducing it, so a potentially visible larger number of empty seats would be particularly unpleasant for FIFA.
Croatian head coach Zlatko Dalić and his team enter the tournament with a combination of experience and generational change, while England has a broad squad with players from the strongest European leagues. In sporting terms, the match can set the tone for the entire Group L, because the winner would immediately take a strong psychological and points position in the fight for first place. For Croatia, a positive result against one of the group favourites would open space for a calmer continuation against Panama and Ghana. For England, meanwhile, a victory would confirm the status of a team expecting a long stay at the tournament. Precisely because of this, the ticket issue cannot be viewed only as a business topic: if the stadium is not full, the scene would be out of step with the sporting weight of the encounter.
Dynamic pricing under regulatory and public pressure
The dynamic pricing model is based on adapting the price to market demand, but at events with a limited number of seats and high emotional value, that model can create a sense of injustice. Football Supporters Europe and Euroconsumers claim that fans have no real choice because FIFA is the sole organizer and the only source of official tickets for the World Cup. In their complaint, they also cite the problem of lack of transparency, high fees and insufficiently clear communication about how many affordable tickets are actually available. Anadolu Ajansı reported that regulatory bodies in the United States have also begun looking into ticket sales practices, including an investigation by the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey connected with matches at New York New Jersey Stadium. Although that investigation does not directly relate to the match in Dallas, it shows that the issue of ticket prices and categories is no longer only a topic for fan forums.
FIFA emphasizes that sales phases and ticket categories are regulated by official rules and that certain products, including supporter and hospitality packages, are separately defined. The organizer also stresses that World Cup revenues are used to finance football at the global level, which is a frequent argument in defence of the tournament's high commercial value. Critics, however, warn that the World Cup is traditionally considered an event for the global public, not exclusively a luxury product. If prices remain very high until matchday, it is possible that the organizer will face a dilemma: keep the expensive pricing structure or try to fill the stadium through later adjustments. At present, it has not been officially confirmed whether FIFA or related sales channels will change prices for the England and Croatia match.
What empty seats would mean for the image of the tournament
The 2026 World Cup is the first edition with 48 national teams and 104 matches, and it is being played in 16 cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada. FIFA presents that format as the biggest and most inclusive competition in the history of the tournament, but expansion automatically increases the number of tickets that need to be sold. A larger number of matches creates room for records, but also for uneven demand among markets, groups and time slots. The England and Croatia match should belong among the matches with greater international interest, which is why its sales are being viewed as an indicator of the broader situation. If even such a clash does not attract a full stadium at current prices, the debate about the accessibility of the World Cup could become even louder.
For Dallas and Arlington, the match remains a major sporting and tourism opportunity, regardless of the current debates about prices. The host city has a large-capacity stadium, strong infrastructure for major events and a programme that includes several matches throughout the tournament. For FIFA, however, it is crucial that commercial success is not accompanied by images of empty sections, especially in matches that should also attract neutral spectators. In the days leading up to 17 June, it will become clearer whether the available tickets will be sold, whether the market will react by lowering prices or whether part of the stands will remain unfilled. Until then, the England and Croatia match remains not only an important football clash but also a test of the limit to which a ticket price can rise before it begins to undermine the atmosphere of the event itself.
Sources:
- FIFA – official match centre for the England - Croatia match in Group L, with data on the date, stadium and competition (link)
- FIFA – official schedule of 2026 World Cup matches and data on the competition format (link)
- FIFA – information on the Supporter Entry Tier category and ticket prices from 60 US dollars (link)
- Croatian Football Federation – official profile of the Croatian national team, match schedule and data on Group L (link)
- England Football / The FA – official schedule of the England national team at the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA World Cup 26 Dallas – data on Dallas Stadium, location, capacity and the stadium's role (link)
- Football Supporters Europe – joint statement with Euroconsumers on the complaint to the European Commission over FIFA's ticket sales practices (link)
- Anadolu Ajansı – analysis of the rise in ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup and comparison with the previous tournament in Qatar (link)