With Fourth of July celebrations shadowed by heat and a small white nationalist presence in Washington, the U.S. team’s World Cup run has offered another kind of loud welcome—built from dual citizenship, birthright players, and a belief that the country looks
In Washington. D.C. where an expected heat index of 110 degrees or higher forced the cancellation of Saturday’s National Independence Day Parade. semiquincentennial version. flags still flew and a march still went on. The Patriot Front—a white nationalist. neo-fascist organization in favor of a white ethnostate—was not to be deterred in its repudiation of multiculturalism and diversity in the U.S.
Hundreds of masked men. outwardly malevolent and inwardly fearful. chanted about “reclaiming” America while holding aloft flags whose symbolism jibed—with bitter irony—with the oppressive weather. Their display was only a small part of the Fourth of July. But it clashed starkly with the festivities taking place across other cities as the FIFA World Cup moved through its first three-plus weeks.
In 11 U.S. cities—and in five combined across Canada and Mexico—visitors and fans kept finding each other. Scotland’s supporters. the Tartan Army. brought bagpipes. kilts. and extraordinary good cheer to Boston and Miami. where they sang. danced and drank copiously with locals and opposing fans alike. Norway’s supporters did the Viking Row absolutely everywhere—in the stands. on the streets. and even on escalators—in and around New York and Boston. Dutch fans paraded in brilliant orange through Dallas, Houston and Kansas City, Mo.
Hinchas from Spain, wrapped in Spanish flags, made glorious ruckuses in Atlanta and Los Angeles. Argentines showed Kansas City what a proper banderazo looks like. then danced with Cape Verdeans in Miami after Lionel Messi and the defending champions were taken to the limit by a little-known tournament darling. Paraguay’s fans—“the Albirrojos”—charmed and wowed San Francisco with passionate watch parties.
The World Cup energy spilled far beyond stadiums. There were news segments and viral videos featuring visitors. enthused to the point of giddiness. trying to wrap their brains around giant portions and free refills at restaurants. the late-night magic of a Waffle House. the ubiquity of ranch dressing. and a mega gas station stocked with knickknacks galore and every salty or sweet treat imaginable.
Some of those visitors—some with varying degrees of surprise—also described feeling welcomed and embraced. For the U.S. team, that idea of welcome has started to look like more than a slogan. If this World Cup has felt like a major success. the joy and friendship people have carried home from it may have something to do with it. “We’re not so different, all of us,” the tone of the country’s celebrations seems to suggest.
Fittingly, the U.S. squad, which faces Belgium on Monday at 7 p.m. in Seattle in a Round of 16 game that will be carried on Fox and Telemundo. might as well be known as Team Small World. More than half the players on the roster own dual citizenship. That list includes Malik Tillman—born and raised in Germany—along with Sergino Dest—born and raised in the Netherlands—Antonee Robinson—born in England—and Weston McKennie—born in the U.S.
It’s a U.S. team made of military brats, sons of naturalized citizens, and birthright citizens. One of those birthright citizens is the team’s top goal scorer, Folarin Balogun. He will be able to play against Belgium after his red-card ban was lifted by FIFA in a huge Sunday development.
Balogun was born on July 3, 2001—an Independence Day eve baby—to Nigerian parents who lived in London. His mother was visiting her sister-in-law in New York and ended up giving birth in Brooklyn. Though he has been in London from infancy on, he is a birthright citizen in accordance with the 14th Amendment.
As the U.S. aims to advance to the quarterfinals of the first World Cup with a 48-nation field. some of the players chasing that next step may want to remember what they’re carrying onto the pitch. Team captain Tim Ream, from St. Louis. put it plainly when he told reporters in Seattle over the weekend: “With all our different backgrounds. where we have all grown up. it’s a true representation of what America is.” He added. “It’s a melting pot of people. of personalities. of characters and. like I said. a perfect representation of what the U.S. is and what it’s about.”.
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino—who describes himself as “200%” Argentinian—fits the theme just as well, even if he isn’t American at all. One glimpse of him belting out “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” which has become the team’s anthem, makes that clear.
On his birthday, Balogun—expecting to be suspended for the Belgium game—told reporters, “I feel the love from the country as a whole, so that makes it easier for me to move forward.”
That’s what the week has been about for many Americans, too: not just cheering for the team, but recognizing the country they’re seeing in it—amid a Fourth of July that could be both tense and tender, depending on where you stood and what you chose to look at.
FIFA World Cup United States vs Belgium Round of 16 Tim Ream Mauricio Pochettino Folarin Balogun 14th Amendment Malik Tillman Sergino Dest Antonee Robinson Weston McKennie Fourth of July parade cancellation Patriot Front