MANSFIELD, Texas – Two nations will be making their World Cup base camps here in North Texas. Sweden will be practicing at the home of FC Dallas in Frisco, and Czechia will be right in Mansfield, Texas.Â
Mansfield Stadium welcomes World Cup team
The Czechs arrived on Friday and got out on the pitch, on Saturday, in front of fans for their first session in Texas.Â
International media also arrived here in DFW, some covering Czechia, others following Mexico and the Republic of Korea, two of the nations in Group A with the Czechs.
What they’re saying:
“I’m rooting for Mexico,” said Castillo as he held a Czech flag. “I got this shipped via Amazon overnight to see if I can get a couple of autographs. That’d be a cool little memento from the World Cup.”
Beebee says there is a pretty significant Czech community in the DFW.
Czech heritage celebrated on the pitch
Big picture view:
“We kind of made our dream come true. You know, to come here and compete against the best ones you know, so also we are not here just to enjoy but also to compete,” said Czechia goalkeeper Matej Kovar.
There was even some hockey flavor in attendance. Dallas Stars forward Radek Faksa represented Czechia in February’s Winter Olympics.Â
“I still play soccer in the summer,” he said.
“It’s a huge honor, you know. Growing up, you always dream of being at the Olympic Games for us, like a hockey player, and for them, it’s the World Cup, so it’s the biggest honor you can get,” said Faksa.
“I just decided today, this morning, so I haven’t told my wife yet, but I will be there 99%,” said Faksa.
What’s next:
The Source: Information in this article was provided by FOX 4’s Jeff Kolb.
