Sorry, FIFA haters – USA stadiums have been packed and patriotic fans have been best part of World Cup

More than 70,000 fans watched Iran draw with New Zealand in one of America’s biggest cities.

So when are the doomsayers going to admit that they were wrong about hating on the 2026 World Cup?

Getty

Football fans filling up NFL stadiums

Of course, there have been issues for Gianni Infantino‘s historically massive football dream, which is scheduled to bounce between Mexico, Canada and the USA for 104 matches from mid-June through mid-July.

But a 1-1 draw between Brazil and Morocco in New Jersey featured more than 80,000 fans in the stands, while once-tiny Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw vs trophy-favorite Spain on Monday was a World Cup instant classic that 67,640 fans in Atlanta will remember for the rest of their lives.

“Stadium filled up like a Beyonce concert,” tweeted one fan, reacting to another near-sellout inside an NFL stadium in the USA.

“The World Cup doesn’t need your buzz, it creates its own,” a second fan posted.

“So inspiring,” a third fan wrote. “Four games a day. I’m loving every minute.”

Tickets were and still are too expensive, especially for international football supporters who’ve spent decades turning the beautiful game into the world’s most popular sport.

Forced hydration breaks kill momentum and are absolutely unnecessary inside a closed-roof stadium with air conditioning.

But when a crowd of 69,285 is announced for Netherlands vs Japan in Arlington, Texas, it’s the latest proof that FIFA going all-in on America for the second time in 32 years just might have been the right call.

Return to America has been a hit

On Monday, Infantino’s organization proclaimed that, ‘The 2026 FIFA World Cup has averaged over 63,000 fans across the 12 opening matches. The stadiums were 99.5 percent full.”

It’s hard to argue with that, even when there were pockets of noticeably empty seats inside San Francisco Bay Area Stadium 10 minutes after halftime of Qatar vs Switzerland.

getty

getty

That match also produced an announced attendance of 67,966, which is comparable to the fanbases that packed the stands for San Francisco 49ers vs Chicago Bears in Santa Clara, California near the end of the 2025 NFL season.

“The US has too big of a population not to fill stadiums,” one fan tweeted.

That’s a key, but overlooked, part of it.

The United States’ population is about 340 million, while the United Kingdom is estimated at 69 million.

Just wait until the knockout matches

Factor in all of the proud international supporters willing to deal with overpriced tickets just to watch their chosen teams in person, and it’s no wonder that NFL stadiums from Seattle to Miami have been either sold out or almost full for match after match.

And this is just the Group Stage, not the drool-worthy knockout rounds that inspire rabid fandom.

getty

Coming to America

USA has a golden opportunity to impress global football fans — don’t screw up the World Cup

How the 1994 World Cup changed soccer in USA – from tourists in Italy to better than England and MLS

Ranking the World Cup venues – from New York to Los Angeles, a string of spectacular venues will play host to the 2026 World Cup

The $9bn pitch built for Ronaldo’s last World Cup – ‘Forever’ grass, artificial sunlight and closed roof

Chris Richards Exclusive – the Crystal Palace defender opens up on his journey to the top, next stop a home World Cup for the kid from Birmingham, Alabama

Scotland literally took over Boston, while England hasn’t even played yet — just wait until all the cheery Thomas Tuchel believers take over Jerry World near Dallas, Texas.

It’s easy to treat FIFA as the big, bad villain.

It’s tempting to constantly associate Infantino with power and greed.

Early days but World Cup is exceeding expectations

But fan and player safety are the biggest tests of the biggest sports tournament in history, while attendance has always been next on the importance list.

Safely packing 70,000 fans into an NFL stadium to support USMNT in a dominant victory is a match that will last for decades in the collective memories of US sports fans.

Getting 70,108 supporters to show up less than a week later for Iran vs New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium — at the same time that the United States has agreed to a tentative peace deal that would end a war with Iran — is the best evidence to date that the 2026 World Cup might be remembered more for all of the good than all of the bad.

Stay up to date on all things USMNT across our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.

All 104 games at the 2026 World Cup this summer will be live on talkSPORT, talkSPORT 2 and the talkSPORT app.