Another Team USA match in the World Cup means another party in downtown Detroit.
Hundreds of fans filled out Campus Martius Park ahead of Team USA’s Round of 16 match against Belgium. If USA wins, it’ll be its first time the Americans made the World Cup quarterfinals in more than 20 years.
This is the fifth Team USA watch party held by Detroit City Football Club for the World Cup.
One US soccer fan, Ankur Gupta, came with a red, white, and blue Einstein wig. Gupta said he hopes the fanfare at Campus Martius matches the in-person experience for Team USA matches.
“I went to the US-Seattle, US-Paraguay games, and they have this complete (expletive) show,” he said. “And it’s awesome.”
The conversation around tonight’s match has been dominated by FIFA’s last-minute decision to allow Folarin Balogun to play, nullifying a one-game suspension from his red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
With Balogun available, the USMNT has an improved shot to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, and only the second time ever.
This story will be updated.
USA TODAY contributed.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Fans pack Detroit’s Campus Martius for USA-Belgium World Cup match
