David Beckham arrived in North Texas for Dallas Stadium’s final 2026 World Cup match and wasted little time embracing the local dress code.
The retired England captain posted an Instagram selfie Tuesday wearing a wide-brimmed white Stetson with a dark suit and tie. Beckham thanked Stetson for the hat and asked actor Cole Hauser, who plays ranch foreman Rip Wheeler on Yellowstone, how he looked.
“Haha! Looking like Texas gangster. Enjoy!” Hauser replied.
Victoria Beckham joined her husband and three of their children, Romeo, Cruz and Harper, for the trip. The family met the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders at the stadium and watched the squad rehearse its “Thunderstruck” routine. Victoria posed with a pom-pom and jokingly asked, “Did I make the squad?”
The Beckhams later watched Spain defeat France 2-0 in the July 14 semifinal, sending Spain to its first World Cup final since winning the tournament in 2010.
England’s tournament ended Wednesday when Argentina rallied for a 2-1 semifinal victory in Atlanta. Enzo Fernández tied the match in the 85th minute before Lautaro Martínez scored the winner in second-half stoppage time, setting up a Spain-Argentina final.
Following in Haaland’s bootsteps
Beckham’s cowboy turn continued a pattern that followed international players and fans throughout North Texas this summer.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Norway striker Erling Haaland went all in on Western wear during his team’s run through the tournament. Haaland visited Wild Bill’s Western Store in Downtown Dallas and left with hats, boots and a customized belt buckle.
He also swapped into a shirt reading “Y’all can kiss my Dallas” and praised the city’s hospitality.
“Dallas is amazing, unbelievable. It’s so nice. I’m coming back here, I’ll tell you what,” Haaland said in a video documenting the visit.
Other World Cup travelers left their own mark. Dutch supporters brought a double-decker bus from the Netherlands to Texas before driving it from Galveston to North Texas. English fans turned Fort Worth rodeos into “Sweet Caroline” singalongs, while Japanese supporters stayed behind after their match against the Netherlands to clean their section.
Dallas kept turning soccer stars into cowboys for the day, and Beckham became one of the final names added to the list.
Nine matches and plenty of history
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Spain’s victory closed Dallas Stadium’s nine-match World Cup run, which included five group-stage games and four knockout fixtures. The Arlington venue hosted more matches than any other stadium in the tournament.
The run featured Lionel Messi breaking the men’s World Cup career scoring record, Norway eliminating Ivory Coast, Egypt advancing on penalties and Spain defeating Portugal before returning eight days later to beat France.
FIFA also installed black curtains along the stadium’s west-facing windows for the Japan-Sweden match, addressing the sunlight glare that has affected Dallas Cowboys games for years.
Nine matches brought nine different crowds, but the local experience extended far beyond what happened on the field. The cowboy hats, rodeos, barbecue stops and traveling fan traditions became part of North Texas’ World Cup story.
AT&T Stadium gets its name back
The final whistle also started the stadium’s transition from FIFA mode back to Cowboys mode.
AT&T Stadium operated as Dallas Stadium during the tournament under FIFA’s sponsorship rules. Organizers covered corporate signage, installed a temporary natural-grass field above the Cowboys’ artificial turf and transformed the building for international soccer.
Crews began removing FIFA branding and dismantling the temporary grass surface after the semifinal as the venue prepared for concerts and the upcoming football season.
A promotional video reposted by Law Nation Sports showed the stadium’s AT&T lettering being uncovered before Cowboys owner Jerry Jones looked into the camera.
“Football is back,” Jones said.
Between Beckham’s white Stetson, Haaland’s Western shopping spree and Jerry Jones reclaiming his stadium, Dallas ended its World Cup run with one foot in international soccer and the other planted firmly in Texas.
The World Cup concludes Sunday, July 19, when defending champion Argentina faces Spain in the final at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Provided by Dallas Express
