The best traditions in sports happen organically. And that’s exactly what happened with the John Denver classic “Country Roads” becoming the unofficial anthem of the USMNT.
Songs are a part of the culture of soccer. There’s no better example of that than the power of hearing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” during a Liverpool game at Anfield. But while soccer has grown by leaps and bounds in America, sometimes our culture is guilty of trying to co-op European songs and traditions in forced efforts to create a great atmosphere.
Thankfully, there’s plenty of great American songs that we call our own that can become meaningful anthems and the USMNT seems to have found its soulmate in the iconic folk song.
“Country Roads” was played after the USMNT beat Australia in their second game in Seattle to clinch the top spot in Group D and the entire stadium sung along in what was a magical scene. The song was even played after Thursday’s loss against Turkiye as fans once again participated.
The @USMNT faithful serenade their team with “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in Seattle
pic.twitter.com/XI3Q3EkxhK
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 19, 2026
Just how fast has the song sunk in and become part of the soccer universe? Even on the Spanish-language Telemundo broadcast, the announcers were discussing the tune and actually broke into a spoken-word interpretation of the classic hit during the second half of game action.
It was the idea of FIFA’s World Cup chief strategy officer Amy Hopfinger to find a song that could resonate with USMNT supporters at the World Cup. In the end, it came down to “Country Roads” and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” as the two finalists to be played after the match in Seattle. With all due respect to the Jersey rock icon, it looks like the right choice was made.
John Strong and Stuart Holden, you’re up to make this happen on the Fox Sports broadcast.
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