England will be roared on by an army of 10,000 coming ‘across the pond’ - but FIFA bosses believe another 15,000 or so ex-pats have snapped up tickets to try and turn the Dallas Cowboys stadium into Wembley08:39, 17 Jun 2026England fans to visit amazing stadium but face bizarre restrictionsIt's finally here! England kick off their World Cup campaign against Croatia later today.‌Fans have been waiting for months for the big Three Lions’ kick off - which comes almost a week after the tournament started. They have taken over downtown Dallas with a huge army of supporters sitting in the sunshine bellowing out “Football’s Coming Home.”‌Gary Taylor, 64, said: “We’ve been waiting for so long. We’re so excited we finally have our first game.” Many of them took a short walk to visit the notorious ‘grassy knoll’ where President Kennedy was shot in 1963. Meanwhile, there was shock news from England’s Kansas City HQ yesterday.‌Tino Livramento had his World Cup dream ended through an injury suffered in training - he was immediately replaced by former Chelsea team-mate Trevor Chalobah. England were having a final training session in Kansas before flying to Dallas.They are staying at a downtown hotel - which was used by the Netherlands squad for their game against Japan earlier in the week. Manager Thomas Tuchel is staying in the same suite that was used by Dutch boss Ronald Koeman. The pair are fierce rivals with Koeman criticising England’s tactics shortly before the tournament started.‌Spurs fan Taylor was keeping cool inside the City Tavern on Elm Street praying England won’t have a nightmare start in the match which kicks off at 9pm tomorrow as searing temperatures hit Dallas. Luckily Taylor and the England team won’t face heat inside the 80,000 stadium as the match is being played inside “the world’s largest air conditioned room”.‌FIFA bosses have ordered the roof to be closed and the air conditioning will be switched on. Spurs fan Gary, 64, from Harold Wood, Essex, who is travelling with girlfriend Jo Lewis, 43, added: “England fans are coming in to Dallas in their numbers now.“There’s been a few of us around for a few days as we managed to get tickets for the Holland v Japan game at the same stadium. The stadium is unbelievable. The noise will be fantastic.”‌England will be roared on by a traveling army of 10,000 coming ‘across the pond’. But Fifa bosses believe another 15,000 or so ex-pats have snapped up tickets to try and turn the Dallas Cowboys stadium into Wembley.England fans were arriving in Dallas by planes, trains and automobiles. Sam Bannister, 41, from Leeds, has two tickets and was driving from Kansas City to Dallas overnight. He was facing an eight-hour, 500-mile journey by road to get there in time for the 3pm kick off. He said: "It will be a road trip and we will share the driving. But we cannot wait."‌Sam is travelling with his best friend Chris Thomas, 40, also originally from Leeds. Chris, who sells traditional British pies with a street food firm called 'Brit Boy', now living in Kansas City, will have fellow Brit Kye Martey, another ex-pat, and his American wife Sandi for company in the car."It is a mixture of excitement and trepidation now," he said. "I just hope England give it a good go. That is all you want as a fan. To see them give everything."‌Exeter City fan George Smith, a finance worker who now lives in San Diego, California is travelling to the England group games. George, 42, is taking his son Charlie, 11, to the England games with him. He also plans to take his Mexican-born wife, Monica, to the famous Azteca stadium if England face her native country in the Round of 16.In total George has spent around $7,000 dollars (£5,178) on tickets for himself and his family. But the bill may rise to £12,000 depending on how far England progress.Article continues belowInside the Londoner pub there was mounting excitement among locals. Sitting under a picture of Queen Elizabeth II, Elton John and Freddie Mercury, John Stride said: “I just couldn’t afford a ticket so I will be watching here." John, 57, from Birmingham, works in IT and now works in the nearby Texas city of Fort Worth, explained: “I tried to get one of the cheaper sections but they sold out quickly and I’m not paying £250 plus to watch a group game.”