Weston McKennie reflects on 'bittersweet' 2026 World Cup for USMNT
· Yahoo Sports
For Weston McKennie, the 2026 World Cup was "bittersweet."
The United States midfielder was in the starting lineup for all five of the team's matches in the tournament, where the USMNT won their group for the first time since 2010. They were knocked out in the round of 16 via a 4-1 loss at the hands of Belgium. That match was watched by 30 million people on FOX, which set the record for the largest soccer broadcast in U.S. history.
Visit umafrika.club for more information.
"It’s like bittersweet ‘cause at the end of the day, you want to go as far as you can and I felt like we want to go further, obviously," McKennie told USA TODAY Sports in an interview on behalf of Panini. "But at the same time, I think one of the things we wanted to accomplish was change the way that Americans view soccer here, or how they enjoy soccer here. We’ve gotten a lot of comments about people that have never been soccer fans becoming soccer fans and getting into the game, so I think that’s something that we’re really proud about."
McKennie said he noticed a shift in the popularity of the sport when he was out and about. The 27-year-old lives in Italy for part of the year where he plays for Serie A club Juventus. He also spent time in Germany as a child where he fondly remembers pulling the Panini sticker for Germany icon Michael Ballack during the 2006 World Cup, which was held in the European country. He is familiar with the cultural difference in the popularity of football.
"I used to be able to come back here to America and walk around the street and nobody knew, had a clue of who I was or what I did," he shared. "So I think after the World Cup, just having a lot of other people that probably have never watched soccer come up to me and just be like, ‘Hey, I enjoy watching,' (was how I realized the impact of this tournament)."
He said seeing the stadiums fill up was another sign of success. The United States was a co-host of the competition with Canada and Mexico. Matches were played in football and NFL stadiums in 16 cities. This World Cup broke the tournament attendance record back in the group stage with 3.6 million fans going to a match in person. The final attendance, which included an extra round due to the expanded field of 48 teams, was more than 6.8 million people with a 99.7 percent occupancy rating, per FIFA.
"Whenever we come back here and play normally, we can’t fill out stadiums like that," McKennie said. "So just to see the support and seeing on social media fans celebrating across the U.S. different places where we played, for sure that (was another winning point)."
One of the USMNT's stars of the tournament was Folarin Balogun. Before FIFA controversially rescinded his red card ahead of the Belgium match, he wowed with three goals. The 25-year-old stepped up with a brace after captain Christian Pulisic was injured in the opening match.
"I’m very happy, obviously," McKennie said. "I think this was a great showing for him and I think seeing another side of him, ‘cause I feel like maybe a lot of people never really thought that he was a physical person or could be like a workhorse how he showed in this tournament. I mean, we always knew that, but I think it was about time everyone else knew that as well. So, it was amazing to see him thrive and help us out and get some goals."
View this post on Instagram
Even though any player would want to make the World Cup final, McKennie appreciated the opportunity to soak in the fun at the Panini Prizm Lounge in New York the weekend of the big game. He got to hang out with Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson and USWNT legend Kristine Lilly and open some of this year's stickers.
"It’s been amazing," he said. "I think what they’re doing here is very inclusive and very exciting for just every type of people that wanna support soccer, just have a good time and merge the two kind of things together."
Another way that he has fun is by adding a splash of color to his hair. He explained before the tournament that his hair dye for the 2024 World Cup wasn't received as he'd hoped because fans confused the blue, white and red splotches for the France flag. This outing, he tried rearranging the order of the colors, but it didn't help much.
"Which way am I supposed to do it then?" he laughed. "Bald my head and then paint it."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Weston McKennie reflects on 'bittersweet' 2026 World Cup for USMNT