{"id":579,"date":"2026-06-10T20:01:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T20:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=579"},"modified":"2026-06-10T20:01:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T20:01:22","slug":"world-cup-fever-hits-san-antonio-with-international-games-at-toyota-field-watch-parties-at-pearl-the-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=579","title":{"rendered":"\u2018World Cup fever\u2019 hits San Antonio with international games at Toyota Field, watch parties at Pearl, The Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It was a clear June afternoon and the shadows had started creeping across a wide green field when one of Senegal\u2019s midfielders was tripped in their international soccer match against Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

Read more Fewer than 1,000 early votes cast for Alamo Colleges board runoff<\/a><\/p>\n

Sadio Man\u00e9, one of the best wingers in world football over the last decade, stepped up to take the free kick. The fans started to stand and the stands started to rumble.<\/p>\n

\u201cSe-ne-gal! Se-ne-gal!\u201d they chanted as their feet stomped and slammed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Man\u00e9 curled a free kick beyond the wall, only for a Saudi Arabian defender to fly in and send the ball out of play.<\/p>\n

Senegal and Saudi Arabia both qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup that is being hosted across North America in June and July. On Tuesday, the two nations squared off in a pre-tournament friendly at San Antonio FC\u2019s Toyota Field.<\/p>\n

It was one of many tune-up games played across the continent to help players prepare for the competitive matches that will make or break hearts around the world. <\/p>\n

While the match at Toyota Field might not have meant much on paper, it was hard to avoid the jubilant fans, notable players and feeling that a piece of the tournament had landed in San Antonio.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be able to be a part of, even a small part of, World Cup fever was pretty cool,\u201d said Jose Lizardo, operations director at Toyota Field. <\/p>\n

Lizardo works for San Antonio FC, the USL Championship team that plays in San Antonio. The 8,500-seat soccer stadium on the city\u2019s Northeast Side is owned by Spurs Sports and Entertainment.<\/p>\n

Lizardo said planning to bring Senegal and Saudi Arabia to San Antonio started three years ago, when Toyota Field started working with FIFA to be a host site for teams visiting the U.S. for the tournament.<\/p>\n

San Antonio ultimately was not selected, but Lizardo and his team built relationships with some of the nations that were interested.<\/p>\n

\u201cSaudi Arabia was one of the teams that came down a couple times and was considering using our facilities and we built a great relationship. They really fell in love with the city of San Antonio, and everything that the city had to offer,\u201d Lizardo said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t choose us, but they asked if we would be open to hosting this kind of game and, obviously, we jumped at the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unique opportunity for fans<\/h4>\n

David Gonzalez directs a local youth football club, Castroville United Fair Oaks. The friendly represented a notable opportunity for his club\u2019s players.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur kids walked out with both teams during the national anthem,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a unique experience for the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kids were excited to stand alongside international-caliber soccer players, he said. And it was exciting to see international soccer in San Antonio.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good beginning and it\u2019s something we should do a lot more often,\u201d Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n

He enjoyed the culture and atmosphere international football brought to Toyota Field. It\u2019s something he hopes to see more of in the future. That could happen, Lizardo said, adding that San Antonio\u2019s facilities were praised by international football officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the conversations and getting calls about different opportunities,\u201d Lizardo said. \u201cI can tell you we were working a couple for later this year that hopefully we can close and bring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans showed they were willing to travel to San Antonio from across the country and across the world for the match.<\/p>\n

Read more West Nile Virus detected months early in San Antonio mosquito trap<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an amazing game, especially the fans. It was really motivating,\u201d said Ahmed Al Anaziz, who came from Saudi Arabia and is following the team on its World Cup journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really great match. It\u2019s my first time in San Antonio. I\u2019m really enjoying it,\u201d added his brother, Abdulrahman Al Harbi.<\/p>\n

Mayna Diouf is Senegalese, but she lives and works in Austin. She had to come down to see her country play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great pleasure seeing Senegal in the United States,\u201d she said, tearing up as the team walked out onto the field and Senegal\u2019s national anthem came on over the speakers. \u201cI feel so good, that will make me cry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Diouf did point out some of the controversies that have swirled around the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Travel restrictions and visa revocations by U.S. officials have impacted fans, team personnel and even referees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe World Cup this year does not feel like the World Cup,\u201d Diouf said.<\/p>\n

Other fans noted high ticket prices.<\/p>\n

Andrew Osborn, a fan who traveled from Austin, said he couldn\u2019t afford tickets to World Cup games, but wanted to see good, international football.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have any games in Austin,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the next best thing. We\u2019re Austin FC fans. We\u2019re chasing the vibe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, for some San Antonians, the high prices aren\u2019t keeping them away from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Kevin Witt and his son attended the Tuesday game and plan to see superstar Cristiano Ronaldo play before he retires.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son is a big soccer fan,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to see Portugal in Houston in two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parties are just getting started<\/h4>\n

Plenty of San Antonio venues plan on welcoming fans over the next five weeks as fans seek places to watch and cheer on their favorite teams. The Rock at La Cantera will show U.S. games and some knockout games later on in the tournament.<\/p>\n

Pearl is hosting watch parties for more than a dozen games in June and July, using a blueprint for large public gatherings that has served fans and surrounding businesses well during the San Antonio Spurs\u2019 run to the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not the only place to watch the game. The Broadway corridor, in particular, seems to be a hot spot for San Antonio\u2019s soccer watchers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be our second World Cup being open, and we were packed the first one, even though we were only open less than a year. We are expecting an even higher turnout this time around,\u201d said Christina Jacobo with The Cottage Irish Pub and Eatery.<\/p>\n

The pub on Broadway will show games throughout the tournament, she said.<\/p>\n

Even businesses that don\u2019t usually sell food or drink are getting excited. The Soccer Factory is co-hosting a watch party for the World Cup\u2019s opening game \u2014 Mexico versus South Africa \u2014 at the Social Spot starting at 11 a.m. Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been waiting for four years. As soon as the World Cup ends, we\u2019re ready for the next one,\u201d said Melvin Villarreal, The Soccer Factory\u2019s store manager.<\/p>\n

San Antonio fans are excited, he said, and have flocked to the store for merchandise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hasn\u2019t started yet and we\u2019re sold out of Spain, Argentina, Mexico and U.S. jerseys for kids,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody has been going crazy for the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more San Antonio\u2019s Our Lady of the Lake University launches three-year bachelor\u2019s degrees<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jubilant fans, notable players and plenty of local watch parties are bringing a piece of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to San Antonio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018World Cup fever\u2019 hits San Antonio with international games at Toyota Field, watch parties at Pearl, The Rock - San Antonio moving report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=579\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018World Cup fever\u2019 hits San Antonio with international games at Toyota Field, watch parties at Pearl, The Rock - 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