Hundreds of soccer fans lined Main Street in downtown Dallas on Monday afternoon for the chance to see France’s national team as players boarded their bus ahead of practice. Supporters waited for about two hours in the July heat to catch a glimpse of the world’s top-ranked team before it depa rted for its practice session with a parade-style escort from Dallas police. The loudest cheers came when star forward Kylian Mbappe boarded the bus. Among the crowd was the Benichou family, who traveled from Paris and have been exploring North Texas during their visit, including stops at the Fort Worth Stockyards and Klyde Warren Park. “For my son he’s a big fan of the French team,” David Benichou said. Tuesday marks France’s only appearance among the nine World Cup matches being played in Arlington. “I think the people are amazing – nicer than in other areas of the United States, to be honest,” Elisa Benichou said. “It was a real discovery – so I think the World Cup is nice for that, so we discovered Dallas, and I think we’re going to come back for sure.” The excitement also drew local fans eager to see European soccer powers in person. “This is great for the city, especially being able to see teams that you never seen here before – the European teams and the players – so, it’s great,” Chris Watkins of Grand Prairie said. Spanish supporter Guilla Caro said he had arrived in Dallas only about 30 minutes before joining the crowd. “The ambiance looks great, like a football ambiance, and I hope Spain will win tomorrow,” Caro said. For many North Texans, the event was another sign of the excitement surrounding Dallas’ role as a World Cup host city. “I’m just grateful that we’re in a city that is hosting,” Kaela Jimenez of Richardson said. Watkins said the city delivered a memorable welcome for France. “I think on a scale of 1 to 10 – we blew it out the water with a 10,” Watkins said. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication. This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser. ...read more read less