The USMNT have a major chance to script history at the upcoming FIFA World Cup considering they are the host nation, alongside the likes of Canada and Mexico. The Group D outfit have a relatively straightforward way to make it to the knockouts, but may need to make their home advantage count especially when it comes to the latter stages of the tournament.
That, may be a challenge in itself considering the limited amount of popularity of the sport in the country. However, USMNT and Juventus star Weston McKennie believes that fans will still show up to support them despite the lack of love for ‘soccer,’ simply because of the scale of the World Cup, per ESPN.
“Americans are some type of fans that show out and show up for the big things even if they don’t love soccer. Any big event, we know how to put on a show and we know to show up, so I think it’s a huge advantage.”
Football undoubtedly does not have the same type of craze that sports such as American Football, Basketball and even Baseball command in the United States. However, things have recently begun to change due to the expansion of Major League Soccer.
The MLS has over the years seen a range of legendary footballers ply their trade in the US, a trend that arguably kickstarted with the arrival of David Beckham to LA Galaxy from Real Madrid, way back in 2007. Beckham eventually became the owner of Inter Miami, who have since seen the arrival of multiple major European stars, including arguably the greatest footballer of all time, in Lionel Messi.
Even before Messi joined the MLS, a range of stars, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard were signed by MLS teams, a phenomenon that has undoubtedly resulted in increased fan following of the league in general. Now, with the USMNT set to take on the world’s best teams as the hosts, there is little doubt that there will be plenty of supporters egging them on.
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