For most national soccer teams, playing a tournament on home turf is a huge advantage. For the United States, it can be the opposite. In the Gold Cup final last year, the US lost in a Houston stadium overwhelmingly packed with rival Mexico fans. The semifinal in St. Louis, Missouri, was a sea of light blue for their opponents Guatemala. Similar scenes occurred at the US-hosted Copa America a year earlier.
Documentary Reveals Players' Emotional Toll
Documentary filmmaker Rand Getlin, who spent the past four years embedded with the US team for an HBO series, told AFP that the lack of home support is a huge concern for US players under extraordinary pressure to deliver as co-hosts at this summer's World Cup. “It devastates them. It hurts them. It makes them sad. They’re disappointed in themselves for not giving fans more to cheer for,” said Getlin.
Getlin’s five-part docuseries, titled US Against the World, takes viewers into the homes and locker rooms of several US stars including Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie. The series charts their journeys from humble backgrounds in a then-soccer skeptical country to unlikely success playing for Europe’s top clubs. It also depicts the sacking of Gregg Berhalter and the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino as head coach less than two years before the World Cup.
Pochettino on Fan Support
Pochettino, the Argentine former coach of Tottenham Hotspur, noted the contrast between the ferocity of the “unbelievable” Guatemala fans and US supporters. “That is the connection that we would like to see in the World Cup. That connection that makes you fly,” he said following the Gold Cup clash. “To see (Guatemala), how they fight, how the fans behave, that is an important thing that we need to learn in this country,” he added.
Ticket Sales and Fan Loyalty
Soccer has boomed in North America over the past decade, but fans often support glamorous European clubs or their nation of ancestry. Recent reports indicate below-expectation ticket sales for the United States' World Cup games, though high prices are mainly blamed. The US will play Paraguay in the group stage opener, followed by Australia and Turkiye.
In the documentary, both Pochettino and the players avoid blaming US fans for being outnumbered. Getlin noted they are meticulously media trained, especially in “what not to say.” The series shows the vitriol Pulisic received for opting not to play in the Gold Cup after an exhausting season. Pulisic had to delete social media and hurled his phone at the wall in anger. He discusses the mental health toll it took. “It was brave of him to invite us home at that time,” said Getlin, who considers Pulisic a “profoundly misunderstood” character.
Pressure Mounting Ahead of World Cup
US players feel they have not yet earned the vast, vociferous home support they witness from other nations. The US failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, did respectably in 2022, but then suffered embarrassing failures at the Copa America and last year's Nations League. For every recent loss, there is “pressure that’s mounting toward the World Cup,” admits goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Getlin hopes the documentary, made in association with the US Soccer Federation, can give American fans an “emotional on-ramp” to support their side at the World Cup. “We wanted to give the United States something to cheer for,” said Getlin. “And in order to cheer for this team, I think you have to know and care about them before the tournament kicks off.”
