Dallas Cup and Dallas Cup Girls’ Invitational kickoff 2023 events

DALLAS, Texas – The 2023 Dallas Cup and the Dallas Cup Girls’ Invitational are now both underway as more than 270 boys and girls teams took the pitch Sunday throughout the Greater Dallas area.

The marquee event for Opening Sunday took place at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium, featuring a triple-header of tournament games and the Dallas Cup’s Opening Ceremonies and “Welcome World” Parade of Nations.

The marquee 19U Gordon Jago Super Group match of the day featured Spain’s Real Madrid CF squaring off against Mexico’s CF Monterrey at Cotton Bowl Stadium. In front of a packed crowd, Real Madrid got their 2023 Dallas Cup campaign off to a fast start. In the 4th minute, the ball found Julio Fernandez who stepped in and curled the ball just inside the far post putting Real Madrid ahead 1-0. As both sides adapted to the early pace, the scoring action subsided and Real Madrid maintained the 1-0 lead into the second half. After a weather delay in the second half, the teams returned to the Cotton Bowl pitch to finish the match. Rayados continued to claw away looking for the goal that would level the match, but Real Madrid’s keeper Hugo Mantecon kept his clean sheet through the final whistle, as Los Blancos picked up three points in the standings.

The 3:00pm match at Cotton Bowl Stadium was a Gordon Jago Super Group clash between two former Super Group champions, Fulham FC from England and Brazil’s Sao Paulo FC. The first half was largely controlled by Sao Paulo, however, Fulham’s back line kept their composure on multiple occasions to keep the score 0-0 at halftime. The second half started with a brief flurry of goals as Eduardo da Silva scored the opening goal of the match in the 52nd minutes to put Sao Paulo up 1-0. Just a few minutes later, Fulham’s Callum Osmand broke through the Brazilian defense and tucked the equalizer past the keeper. In the 73rd minute, Sao Paulo once again went in front as Mateus Manso collected a loose ball in the box and calmly slotted the go ahead goal into the left side of the net. The final whistle blew with the score 2-1, as the three-time Super Group champions, Sao Paulo FC, notched their first win at the 2023 Dallas Cup.

The first match of the day at Cotton Bowl Stadium was a 19-Under showdown between local side FC Dallas Girls ECNL 05/05 and the Australian School Girls in the Dallas Cup Girls’ Invitational. Both teams entered the game having already secured three points yesterday in Bracket A of the 19-Under Girls division. The Australian Girls drew first blood as Kaylie Shannon found the back of the net in the 13th minute. Shannon continued her strong performance, scoring her second goal in the 51st minute to give her team a 2-0 lead. FC Dallas fought back as Kyrsten Kizer scored in the 58th minute, bringing the score to 2-1. Despite their best efforts, FC Dallas was unable to secure an equalizer and the Australian School Girls claimed another three points in the standings.

At 5:00pm, the Opening Ceremonies and “Parade of Nations” took place at the Cotton Bowl, featuring the 5,500+ participating athletes, representing 17 countries. Between players and referees, more than 35 countries are represented in 2023, making Dallas Cup one of Dallas’ most internationally diverse annual events.

Additional games were played throughout the day at MoneyGram Soccer Park, Dallas College Richland Soccer Complex, and the Toyota Soccer Center. The 2023 Dallas Cup will run through April 9, featuring Boys’ 12U divisions up to the 19U Gordon Jago Super Group. The Dallas Cup Girls’ Invitational finals and the Super Group semifinals will be played on Friday, April 7 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, which will also host boys’ championship matches of the U13-U19 age groups on Saturday, April 8 and Sunday, April 9.