The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) represents more than just a soccer team to Americans. A country that has won the most medals in every Olympic Games since the 1990s, with the best basketball, football, baseball, and hockey teams in the world, and dominates in economic and geopolitical sectors, has less than a one percent chance of winning the tournament, according to The Athletic. Being an underdog, which is not foreign to the country, has united fans and citizens alike.
Other than the tournament’s entertainment intent, Team USA gives people from different backgrounds one team to support. Uniting a country from different cities and cultures, especially the United States, is notoriously mentioned during the Olympics. In previous multi-country soccer tournament’s, soccer in the United States has seen a rise in interest, but due to this year’s tournament being located on home soil, the USMNT hooked many non-soccer fans to partake in the viewing experience.
According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), outdoor soccer participation from 2025 Americans grew to 16.8 million, a 15.8% increase from 2024. Participation growth in previous tournaments usually occurs in the months following, with people gaining inspiration to play the game. Professionally, the MLS averaged 22,109 fans per match through May 2026, with 4.8 million fans attending games in the first three months, which is the second best attendance pace in league history.
With more soccer participants than ever in the United States, the USMNT second victory in their pool drew 15.986 million viewers on FOX, the tournament’s most watched U.S. men’s English-language telecast ever. The exponential growth in the game gives soccer a larger audience to Americans, something that soccer entertainers would not have expected five years ago.
Although full of optimism, the furthest the USMNT has gone in the modern-era quadrennial tournament is the semifinals in 2002. Minimal expectations for the team lie at a win in the first knockout round. A round-of-16 victory would be a coup. A trip to the semis for the United States, would be a difficult feat.
Juggernaut countries like England, Brazil, Argentina and Spain have led the soccer pack in developing and producing worldwide talent. Feeling overlooked is foreign to the people of the United States, which makes people feel the gritty, hard-working characteristics of the USMNT.