Mansfield Stadium – or Texas Health Mansfield Stadium as it’s known outside of FIFA World Cup duty – opened its doors for the very first time as the Czech national team began its residency for the summer tournament.
The Dallas-area’s two Team Base Camps were among the last announced as Czechia and Sweden won two of the four available spots from UEFA’s qualifying playoffs. The Czechs flew into the Metroplex on Friday after a 3-1 win over Guatemala in a tune-up friendly in New Jersey.
The brand-new 7,000-seat home of North Texas SC only received its Temporary Certificate of Occupancy earlier in the week. Several areas around the stadium that are not related to player facilities are still under construction, including the Mansfield Mile, which will be the longest bar of any outdoor stadium in North America.
Central and North Texas’ Czech roots were on full show as hundreds of fans filled the east side of Mansfield Stadium as the players emerged to begin their warm-ups. Coach Miroslav Koubek had 25 of his 26 players in full participation, with forward Jan Kuchta jogging throughout the session.
As the players split into groups for Rondos, cheers went up for the occasional trick or nutmeg, while the goalkeepers drilled in front of the south end safe standing.
The morning session wound down as the players who carried the minutes against Guatemala watched their teammates in small-sided games before the group spent time signing autographs.
One special visitor was Dallas Stars center Radek Faksa. A member of the Czech Olympic Ice Hockey team earlier in 2026, Faksa was sporting a walking boot while supporting his countrymen, following surgery to repair a cut tendon caused by a teammate’s skate.
The Czech team opted for a 9:30 am start time on a humid day threatened by rain. As heat has been a common talking point, Sparta Prague defender Jaroslav Zeleny was still taken aback by the heat and sun on a relatively mild day.
“The weather surprised me,” said Zeleny before pausing to communicate the humidity to the Czech PR person. “That [humidity] was the biggest shock for me, but at least today it’s cloudy so it’s a little bit easier. The weather is, I think, the worst thing, but otherwise everything else is really nice.”
Texas Health Mansfield Stadium hopes to arrange an open house before North Texas SC takes to the field for the first time on July 4.
Czechia travels to Guadalajara for a clash with South Korea on Thursday, June 11, before traveling from their DFW base to Atlanta (South Africa) and Mexico City (Mexico) in Group A.
