Saturday | 4th July 2026
The game that most of the world calls football is teaching America something about itself as it marks its 250th anniversary, while reminding international visitors that the nation is far more welcoming, diverse, and nuanced than the political caricatures that often dominate global perceptions.
The World Cup has delivered a rare sense of shared joy, offering a unifying distraction after years shaped by ideological polarization, the lingering economic consequences of the pandemic, and relentless political division. Its vibrant mix of European and South American powerhouses alongside emerging African and Asian contenders also reflects America’s own multicultural identity—a nation whose enduring democratic experiment has long been strengthened by immigration.
In the months leading up to the tournament, concerns centered on FIFA’s commercialization of the event, soaring ticket prices, and the governing body’s reputation for political expediency. Yet once the opening whistle blew, those worries quickly faded into the background. The players’ brilliance, the passion of the supporters, and the carnival atmosphere surrounding the competition revealed a broader truth: the United States is far more layered, generous, and welcoming than years of political conflict surrounding Donald Trump’s presidency—or anti-American sentiment abroad—might suggest.
The country’s many diaspora communities have transformed host cities into celebrations of global culture. Streets fill with supporters whose family roots stretch to Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Europe, and beyond, proudly celebrating both their heritage and their adopted homeland. These scenes beautifully capture America’s ethnic mosaic and its remarkable ability to embrace people from every corner of the world.
Their visibility carries added significance at a time when immigrants have often been portrayed negatively and many communities have lived with uncertainty amid hardline political rhetoric and immigration crackdowns.
The national team itself embodies the country’s founding ideal of E pluribus unum—”Out of many, one.” Managed by an Argentine coach, Team USA combines homegrown talent with players whose lives span multiple cultures. Left-back Antonee Robinson, whose father starred in college soccer, speaks with the unmistakable accent of northern England, where he grew up. Midfielder Malik Tillman is the son of an American serviceman and a German mother and developed through Germany’s youth football system.
Brooklyn-born Folarin Balogun, the son of Nigerian parents, was raised in England and now plays professionally for Monaco. His presence in the American squad is possible because of birthright citizenship—a constitutional principle that recently survived one of its greatest legal challenges when the US Supreme Court upheld it just one day before Balogun scored for the United States.
While Team USA has helped fuel nationwide excitement, it is only one part of the tournament’s broader impact.
Across the country, bars, restaurants, and public viewing areas have overflowed with supporters from every continent. Cities that had struggled to regain their pre-pandemic vibrancy have once again become lively gathering places as fans wearing the jerseys of dozens of national teams fill downtown streets. At a time dominated by smartphones and endless scrolling, the simple act of coming together to experience a shared moment has become one of the defining rituals of the summer.
Perhaps most refreshing is that the men’s national team—like the highly decorated women’s side before it—has become one of the few causes capable of attracting support across America’s political spectrum. In recent years, sports have increasingly become another front in the nation’s culture wars, with debates over athletes kneeling during the national anthem or using their platforms to criticize President Trump. For now, however, football offers something increasingly rare: a common experience that transcends political identity.
A Unifying Force in a Divided Nation
In Europe and South America, football has long been inseparable from politics. Sectarian tensions still define matches between Rangers and Celtic in Glasgow. FC Barcelona has served for generations as a symbol of Catalan nationalism. Yet in the United States, football has the opportunity to become something different—an experience capable of uniting audiences across ideological divides, much as the NFL has successfully done for decades.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has faced criticism for cultivating close relationships with authoritarian governments and alienated many non-MAGA supporters by publicly praising Donald Trump and supporting his nomination for a peace prize. Even so, he articulated an important truth last year in Los Angeles when speaking about football’s unique ability to bridge cultural differences.
“We can see, well, actually this other person from this other part of the world, he’s not so bad—or she’s not so bad—as described,” Infantino observed.
He envisioned the 2026 World Cup complementing America’s semiquincentennial celebrations, describing the tournament as the perfect global party to accompany the nation’s milestone birthday. What he could not have anticipated was that football itself would become a more powerful symbol of national unity than many of the official commemorations.
As July Fourth approached, celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary became increasingly politicized after President Trump assumed control of the commemorations from a bipartisan congressional commission.
Unlike the overflowing World Cup stadiums, many official anniversary events struggled to attract comparable crowds. Reports indicated that Trump privately expressed frustration over attendance at his speech launching the Great American State Fair, while many National Mall exhibitions remained relatively quiet.
Part of the reason may be that the president has made little effort to separate the national celebration from his own political legacy. During his Mall speech, he portrayed himself as a leader comparable to America’s Founding Fathers in restoring national greatness. While millions of supporters undoubtedly agree, his approval ratings remain below 40 percent. By framing the anniversary through a strongly partisan lens, the administration inevitably alienated many Americans whose patriotism takes a different form.
Changing International Perceptions
Trump’s “America First” agenda has significantly reshaped how many people overseas view the United States, despite his repeated insistence that the country has never enjoyed greater international respect.
Strict immigration policies, strained alliances, and widespread media coverage of immigration raids fueled calls earlier this year for European fans to boycott the tournament. Although supporters ultimately traveled in large numbers, recent figures from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed that international tourism to the United States declined by 5.5 percent in 2025 even as arrivals across member countries increased by 3.4 percent.
Those who stayed away, however, missed an America that often goes unseen.
International media frequently focuses on Trump’s political battles, mass shootings, racial tensions, and healthcare inequalities. Those issues are undeniably real. Yet World Cup visitors are discovering another side of the country—one defined by generosity, hospitality, and genuine curiosity toward people from around the world.
Host cities have exceeded expectations in welcoming visiting supporters. Boston embraced Scotland’s famous “Tartan Army” as thousands of kilt-clad fans marched through downtown accompanied by bagpipes before packing Fenway Park for a Red Sox game. The Boston Globe later published a heartfelt tribute thanking the Scots for bringing extraordinary joy to the city.
The admiration has been mutual. Visiting supporters have marveled at truck stops larger than European towns, oversized restaurant portions, and massive American retail stores. Beyond the social media fascination with consumer culture, many have explored regions that international tourists rarely experience.
While overseas visitors often limit themselves to New York, Florida, California, or other coastal destinations, the 48-team World Cup has spread football across much of North America. Matches hosted throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico have introduced millions to communities far removed from the usual tourist trail.
For many Europeans accustomed to simplistic stereotypes of conservative America, the experience has been eye-opening. Regardless of political differences, countless visitors have found Americans remarkably open, friendly, and eager to welcome strangers.
Several football powers established training bases deep in the American heartland. England prepared in Kansas City, Missouri; Sweden selected Frisco, Texas; Spain trained in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Algeria perhaps left the greatest local impression. Lawrence, Kansas, adopted the team as its own, decorating storefronts in Algerian colors while the University of Kansas marching band welcomed the squad by performing the Algerian national anthem.
These moments demonstrate how Americans are adding their own distinctive flavor to the world’s most popular sport. Fans accustomed to gathering in crowded European pubs have embraced the uniquely American tradition of tailgating. In cities such as Atlanta, supporters of Mexico, Ghana, Brazil, and countless other nations celebrated together in lively fan zones. Diverse metropolitan areas including Miami, Los Angeles, and New York became vibrant football capitals almost overnight.
Visitors have also been surprised by the sophistication of American football supporters. Expanded television coverage of the English Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, and other international competitions has steadily grown the sport’s domestic following. Watching European club matches on outdoor televisions before college football games has become increasingly common. Historic television audiences for World Cup matches further demonstrate that soccer has secured a meaningful place within America’s crowded sporting landscape.
Football’s Growing American Future
The global football community is also beginning to view America differently.
When the United States hosted the World Cup in 1994, international observers repeatedly asked whether soccer would finally “conquer” America. The question reflected a patronizing assumption that Americans, devoted to football, baseball, and basketball, could never truly appreciate the artistry of the world’s game.
That attitude has largely disappeared.
Professional soccer has never been more popular in the United States. Yet perhaps the sport no longer needs to conquer America. Instead, it is steadily carving out its own place within an already crowded sporting calendar that includes the Super Bowl, March Madness, the Masters, the NBA playoffs, the US Open, and postseason baseball.
Major League Soccer is increasingly becoming more than a destination for aging international stars such as Lionel Messi. Lower-division professional leagues continue to improve, college soccer has grown in quality, and the game’s infrastructure has expanded dramatically. MLS’s planned transition to a European-style calendar next year will further integrate American soccer with the global game.
Fans newly captivated by this World Cup have already witnessed unforgettable performances from stars including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Harry Kane. Yet the tournament’s greatest drama still lies ahead. Knockout football between the world’s elite nations produces tension unlike any other sporting spectacle, with every match carrying the possibility of heartbreak—or the agony of a penalty shootout.
Even with the tournament still unfolding, the legacy of the 2026 World Cup already appears secure.
It is making the world’s game feel a little more American—and encouraging more Americans than ever before to fall in love with football.