Dallas Cup and Dallas Cup Girls’ Invitational kickoff with over 280 total teams

DALLAS, Texas – The 2024 Dallas Cup and the Dallas Cup Girls’ Invitational are now both officially underway as more than 280 participating boys and girls teams took the pitch on Sunday throughout the Greater Dallas area.

As Dallas Cup commemorates its 45th anniversary this week, it proudly kicked off the festivities at Cotton Bowl Stadium at Fair Park with a marquee event, featuring a triple-header of tournament games and the Dallas Cup’s Opening Ceremonies and “Welcome World” Parade of Nations.

The marquee U19 Gordon Jago Super Group match of the day featured four-time Super Group champion Tigres UANL squaring off against the 2017 Super Group champion FC Dallas at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Tigres got their 2024 Dallas Cup campaign off to a fast start. In the 9th minute, following a corner kick, the ball fell to Tigres captain Israel Aceves Flores, who scored the opening goal of the match. In the 27th minute, Tigres’ Marcelo Salinas Villarreal tacked on a second goal for the Liga MX side, putting them ahead 2-0.

In the second half, FC Dallas managed to turn things around. Jared Salazar scored the first goal for the local side, converting from the penalty spot in the 62nd minute to make the match 2-1. In the 73rd minute, Luke Shreiner leveled the match with a lovely header off a set-piece that he guided into the right side of the net. The final whistle sounded with the match locked at a 1-1 draw, as both sides picked up a point in Bracket B of the Gordon Jago Super Group.

The 3:00pm match at Cotton Bowl Stadium was an action-packed U19 Gordon Jago Super Group clash between Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt and Brazil’s São Paulo FC. In the 10th minute, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Paul Wünsch scored the first goal of the match, as he skirted around the São Paulo keeper in the box and tucked away the opening goal. Minutes later, after being awarded a penalty, São Paulo’s Matheus Nascimento scored from the spot to level the match at, 1-1.

The scoring continued in the 29th minute when Eintracht’s Anas Alaoui tapped in the second goal for the German side after a lovely assist into the box from Junior Awusi, pushing them back in front, 2-1. However, the Brazilian side once again answered the bell, as Ryan Dos Santos and Henrique Do Carmo scored in the 39th and 58th minute, respectively, putting São Paulo on top, 3-2.

The match ended at 3-2, as the three-time Super Group champions, São Paulo FC, notched their first win at the 2024 Dallas Cup.

The first match of the day at Cotton Bowl Stadium was an Under 19 girls showdown between Solar U18-19 ECRL Adames and last year’s U19 finalist, the Australian School Girls, in the Dallas Cup Girls’ Invitational. On a blustery North Texas day, neither side was able to enter the score sheet in the first half as the match entered the break locked at zeroes. In the 69th minute, the Australian Girls broke the deadlock when Stephanie Hallas unleashed a stunning first-touch strike from outside the box, securing a 1-0 lead. With no further goals, the final whistle confirmed the Australian side’s victory, as they claimed another three points in the standings.

The Opening Ceremonies and “Parade of Nations” also took place Sunday at the Cotton Bowl, featuring 6,000+ participating athletes, representing 14 countries. Between players and referees, more than 30 countries are represented in 2024, 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 2024 Dallas Cup will run through March 31, featuring Boys’ U12 divisions up to the U19 Gordon Jago Super Group. The Dallas Cup Girls’ Invitational finals and the Super Group semifinals will be played on Friday, March 29 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, which will also host boys’ championship matches of the U13-U19 age groups on Saturday, March 30 and Sunday, March 31.