Balogun commits: How will the Stade Reims star fit in with a young USMNT? Follow him on Twitter MRogersFOX and subscribe to the daily newsletter. Martin Rogers is a columnist for FOX Sports and the author of the FOX Sports Insider newsletter. Stu Holden's top 50 players at the World Cup.How to watch every game of the 2022 World Cup.Get to know the USMNT's 26-man World Cup roster.World Cup Now: Expert analysis from England-USA scoreless draw.World Cup Daily: USA controls its fate after draw vs.Three takeaways: USA outplays England, but can't find the net in draw.USA should get major confidence boost from 0-0 draw with England.is not playing, or vice versa, no one should feel bad about that." And if you want to cheer for Mexico when the U.S. "But I am grateful for this soccer connection that the two countries have. The United States has amazing soccer fans, and it is my country, and I love it dearly. "They love the game, they are always extremely respectful and happy to meet you. "Let me tell you, I never had a bad interaction with a Mexico fan that I met, and I meet them all the time," said Donovan, who lives close to the Mexican border, in San Diego. Fans would bang on the side of the American team bus as it made its way to the stadium, and camp outside the USA hotel the night before to try to disrupt their sleep.īut Donovan says that for all the vitriol that was directed toward him on the field, away from soccer is it very different. When Donovan played qualifying games at Mexico City's famed Azteca Stadium, he would be routinely booed every time he touched the ball. Realistically, it is hard to imagine many of the noisier members of the American Outlaws, the passionate fan group that follows Gregg Berhalter's men, well, everywhere, daubing green paint on their cheeks anytime soon, even if Mexico was to go on a deep run. This is one of them, whatever people overseas might think.Īlso, naturally, the USA national team has a hard-core element to its following who would never dream of rooting for Mexico, and that's fine too. South of the border there is a longer-established and more traditional soccer culture, whereas the USA has developed its own recent soccer identity, with its own set of customs. You get at least six games that you deeply care about."Īdmittedly, it is much less common in Mexico to find anyone who would want the USA to do well. "Being a fan of both, it really makes the World Cup special. "That was the start of me looking more toward the USA, hoping they did well," Diaz said. After Los Angeles Galaxy games at the Rose Bowl in the inaugural season of MLS in 1996, Jones would stop to chat and hang out with locals and fans in the parking lot, and it made a big impression on Diaz, then in middle school. His affinity for the USA team came through USMNT legend Cobi Jones. If I stopped supporting one of the teams, it would be like giving up a part of myself."ĭiaz grew up following Mexican soccer and boxing along with members of his family. "Some of my die-hard Mexico national team friends make fun of me, but the United States is obviously a part of me and who I am, as well. "You love one kid, and when another is born, you wonder if you're going to have to split your love. "It is like having two kids," Diaz told me, via telephone. Daniel Diaz, a sports physician based in Los Angeles, grew up in a Mexican-American household in Pasadena, Calif., and has joint loyalties at this World Cup. I've since changed my mind, mostly due to speaking with people like Donovan, and fans, and hearing their stories.ĭr. I didn't see how it was possible to be a true fan of one team and also have any kind of love for its rival. Will Mexico make it out of its group, as usual? The "FIFA World Cup Now" crew discusses.īack in 2018, I wasn't onboard with his viewpoint.
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