A minute’s silence was observed before the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinal as both teams gathered around the centre-circle, at the Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on July 14.
The minute’s silence was a tribute to the victims of the Nice attack of July 14, 2016, which saw 86 people killed and more than 400 injured when a truck driver ploughed into crowds leaving a Bastille Day fireworks display in the southern French city.
The semifinal is being played on the 10th anniversary of the attack.
“Before France-Spain, a minute of silence will be observed in tribute to the victims of the Nice attack, ten years after July 14, 2016,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a social media post on Monday before going on to thank FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
“Thank you to the President of FIFA for responding to the request of France and of all French people who have mobilised. We will never forget.”
The Islamic State jihadist group claimed the attacker, a 31-year-old radicalised Tunisian man named Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, as one of its followers, after police shot him dead at the scene.
The attack came after the country’s worst-ever peacetime assaults in and around Paris on November 13, 2015, which killed 130 people.
Comments
Published on Jul 15, 2026