Dallas Stadium prepares for France vs Spain World Cup semifinal

sportsJul 13, 2026511,680

England’s run to the World Cup semi has given some struggling pubs a major sales boost, with Lisa Mayall of the British Oak in Kingswinford expecting takings to treble for the England v Argentina semi at 8pm BST and UK national sales reported up 10 percent. UK Hospitality says 5.5 million extra pints were sold during the group stage and warned two pubs a day are closing because of rising costs and taxes, calling for a VAT cut to 10 percent. Late kick-off times have limited use of outdoor screens, but the 8pm kickoff will let the British Oak double capacity to about 400 by using its outdoor area. Not all operators are benefitting: Steve Hopkins of the Shovel Inn in Stourbridge said turnout has been poor this tournament and he plans to quit the business after the World Cup. Separately, former Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy drew criticism for a column on El Debate ahead of the France v Spain semi, and reporting on ticket prices notes that high costs left many stadium seats vacant despite marquee players drawing interest. The immediate consequences include a likely stronger hospitality performance for the semi and renewed industry pressure on government for tax relief ahead of the budget, while political backlash to Rajoy’s remarks and scrutiny of match ticketing economics continue to unfold.

Mueller, She Wrote

@muellershewrote.com

I don’t have any teams left in the World Cup, but I’ll be rooting for Spain (because they make Trump mad) or France, because they’re just so good and I love watching them. I will not be taking questions at this time.

91144d ago

Rick Derevan13

After it came out that Harry Kane played golf with Trump, England is off my list.

socalledcanadia.bsky.social12

Mbappe plays with such joy that I can’t help rooting for him.

Holly Peppers 12

It would be fun to see France beat England on American soil in honor of the 250th anniversary.

Mr.Eddie89769

France has the better national anthem bsky.app/profile/joan...

blue-at-birth.bsky.social9

Gotta root for Spain so we can see Trumps face when he hands the Trophy to his most hated European country

Dr. RawheaD5

Spain in a genuinely great, well-rounded tream, and the only team left that is not largely dependent on a superstar ace striker.

Mike Masnick

@masnick.com

So apparently Elon Musk's X is now posting betting lines? Someone sent me an X post and I noticed in the righthand column that they're showing the betting lines (from MGM Grand) for World Cup matches. So on top of bots, scams, propaganda, & NCII, now you have... gambling.

Heading: Soccer:

🇦🇷

Argentina

3

🇨🇭

Switzerland

1

FT

Jul 11

🇫🇷

France

+130

🇪🇸

Spain

+225

Tomorrow

12:00 PM

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

England

+155

🇦🇷

Argentina

+195

Jul 15
12:00 PM

12444d ago

bjkeefe2

Yes. I've been noticing those for quite some time.

The Patron Saint of English Breakfast1

An avaricious and venal piece of shit through and through.

Tom1

What’s next? Blackjack and hookers?

曹昌倫1

How about we all delete X in solidarity? What a concept...

só fabio1

This kind of feature is already on all the other score apps (even apple I think), it has become default

Frozen Cusser1

Truly the Everything (Vile) App

Jeff Kassouf

@jeffkassouf.bsky.social

NEWS: The #USWNT will host Spain on Oct. 10 at Audi Field in DC and Oct. 13 at Subaru Park in Chester, PA. Top two ranked teams in the world. Olympic champs vs. World Cup champs. 2027 World Cup prep. Two of the most anticipated USWNT friendlies in a long time.

5745d ago

Annette Gordon-Reed

@agordonreed.bsky.social

One thing I’ve noticed about paying attention to the World Cup is the amount of really racist things I see people saying about the teams. Of course we have racism here in the US, but the casualness with which deeply racist things are said among the soccer fandom is quite something.

4445d ago

Manisha Sinha3

Yes Mbappe and the French team have borne the brunt of it. First that awful Paraguayan Senator and now the former PM of Spain. The fact that the UN Human Rights Commission made a statement and Macron too says something! Mbappe has been a class act in the face of brutal racism.

diaperingdad.bsky.social2

The passions of sports can unleash the best in humanity but also the worst. Untempered enthusiasm has always been the fuel of populist tyrannies.

Pennan Brae

@pennanbrae.bsky.social

A pair of paddle boarders make their way toward Science World in Vancouver as the World Cup unfolds. #vancouverbc #fifaworldcup #falsecreek

3344d ago

Kim McCauley

@kimischilling.bsky.social

Following a brief bout of being annoyed with the World Cup results, I have decided that getting to see the best 4 teams in the world compete for the title is good, actually. www.thetransferflow.com/p/hey-jude-d...

4445d ago

The City Reporter

@thecityreporter.nyc

The World Cup’s economic impact on New York is becoming clear: Hotels saw an uptick in business but far below expectations, while sports bars have cashed in on the soccer fever that infected so many New Yorkers.

3645d ago

Miguel Delaney

@migueldelaney.bsky.social

France-Spain has naturally been billed as best defence and best attack But that is really a product of the true difference - different ideas on how play, and even develop talent Spain have 6s, France don't, but have other positions www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...

2945d ago

Jason Rabinowitz

@airlineflyer.net

Norway is out of the World Cup, but Norse Atlantic is still very much in it. It's spinning up a LGW-ATL flight for the next match. I love how its first email says "Fair play: the better team went through" and the next one immediately goes a petty with the spidercam tail and assist double meaning.

2045d ago

Big Boy No. 4014

@dancreel.com

To put it in terms that I can understand: is the World Cup now at the stage when it's just MLS teams left in the US Open Cup?

2345d ago

Steven Goff

@stevengoff.bsky.social

USWNT lines up heavyweight Spain friendlies ahead of 2027 World Cup. Details …

2145d ago

Jeff Carlisle

@jeffreycarlisle.bsky.social

With the 2026 World Cup cycle over, it's time to say goodbye to some longtime #usmnt stalwarts. It's also the moment to see which young prospects are ready to step in and try to claim a foothold, so here's a look at 30 players who could take the field in 2030. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

2245d ago

Daryl

@daryldao.com

I saw the article from The Athletic about this topic the other day, gave it a read, and hated it. so I decided to write one myself and use some data to see what can be learned from penalty shootouts at the #WorldCup so far, just cause I can. www.talking-tactics.com/p/world-cup-...

1745d ago

Foolish Samwise1

We just need to bring back the MLS Shootout

it’s me, aubrey plaza accord

@sellingtheta.bsky.social

Mbappe has a strong chance to be the greatest *world cup* performer ever. he’ll be (by some distance) the career leading goal scorer. he’s 2 wins away from 2 cups, and he scored a hat trick in another final. in 4 years he’ll only be 31

1445d ago

Iain Roberts

@slowbikeiain.bsky.social

Expected growth in number of countries for men's World Cup finals, assuming Fifa's desperate money-grabbing continues. By the 2070s, Fifa will be instigating civil wars and national partitions to ensure they don't run out of countries.

Graph showing number of teams increasing from 16 (1978) to 32 (2022), 48 (2026), 64 (2030) then up to 160 in 2054.

1245d ago

Iain Roberts3

By the 2050s, the European qualifying rounds will simply determine which of Liechtenstein, San Marino and Gibraltar have to sit the finals out.

Sharpie2

And Scotland will still be going out ignominiously in the group stage.

Phil Banting1

Eventually the tournament will become so big that it will have to be hosted all over the world. The “finals” will become a set of regional contests, with just the top 16 meeting in a super-tournament in one country. And repeat.

Fietser Steve1

Watching other people play a game is just alien to me. I plan to spread this feeling to save the world.

3 sources

aljazeera.comFormer Spain PM criticised for ‘xenophobic’ remark on French World Cup team nytimes.comAt World Cup Ticket Prices, Even Messi Can’t Fill a Stadium theguardian.comStruggling pub landlords given a lifeline by England’s World Cup heroes

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Dallas Stadium prepares for France vs Spain World Cup semifinal

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