Dallas has the most World Cup matches of the 16 sites with 9 at the home of the Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys were hopeful the World Cup final would end up in their stadium. They settled for the consolation prize of more matches than any of the 16 sites in the event co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

There are nine matches at the retractable roof venue with the giant video board hanging over the field in suburban Arlington, capped by a semifinal on July 14. The first match is exactly a month earlier, Japan vs. the Netherlands on June 14.

World Cup heavyweights Argentina and England both have matches at Dallas Stadium, normally known as AT&T Stadium.

Dallas-Fort Worth is in the heart of American football country, but has World Cup roots after being one of the host cities in 1994.

Landmarks/places to see

North Texas isn't teeming with tourist attractions, but the two most worth checking out are the site of the JFK assassination in downtown Dallas and the Fort Worth Stockyards, just north of downtown. The twice-daily parade of longhorns in the stockyards in as pure Texana as it gets.

Food scene in Dallas-Fort Worth

Tex-Mex and barbecue are musts, and the options are plentiful. There are chains and mom-and-pops as far-flung as the two base camps — about 30 miles north of Dallas (Frisco) and 30 miles south (Mansfield).

Fan zones

The official fan site is just east of downtown Dallas in Fair Park, home of the Cotton Bowl that was a host venue 32 years ago. The main stage is an amphitheater that normally is a concert venue for major recording artists. There will be plenty more room for fans to roam in the 277-acre park.

Transportation options

Arlington is a city of about 400,000 without mass transportation. The workaround officials settled on for the World Cup is a bus system connecting the Trinity Railway Express stop that is closest to the stadium. The TRE is a train system that connects downtown Dallas and downtown Fort Worth. Officials are recommending a “GoPass” as the best way to access and pay for the transportation. That would include DART, the light-rail system that services Dallas County. The stadium is in Tarrant County.

Stadium tips

The 80,000-seat venue might look familiar to some visitors because the standing-room platforms at each end were a vision that grew out of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' visits to Europe when the stadium was being designed. The home of Major League Baseball's Texas Rangers is right next to the World Cup venue. There will be plenty of opportunities to take in a baseball game during the monthlong World Cup. Texas Live, a fan-centric collection of bars and restaurants, sits just outside Globe Life Field.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer