'Country Roads' unites World Cup fans with USMNT sing-along after 2-0 knockout round win
For the fourth time during the 2026 World Cup, John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" echoed through a packed stadium of U.S. soccer fans and players, this time to celebrate the USMNT 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday night.
Despite some drama during the second half when the team's star striker Folarin Balogun received a red card, which forced the U.S. to play with just 10 men, supporters united in harmony after the knockout round victory to sing what has become the unofficial anthem among American fans.
"You feel part of something bigger, things that we are building here," U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino said, according to ESPN. "I enjoy being part of that amazing, you know, project. And of course, when that song starts to, you know, the sound in the stadium, it's impossible not to sing."
Denver's 1971 hit -- an ode to West Virginia and America as a whole -- has been on repeat at U.S. games throughout the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, being blasted through the sold out stadiums at the end of each match as the team salutes the fans.
The musical moment of appreciation between the players and patrons has been heard in the stadiums of Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco Bay Area.
Even when the U.S. men's national team came up short in extending its group stage win streak after a 3-2 loss to Turkey on June 25, the crowd collectively came together to sing the country folk hit.
U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams told ESPN the song will be a memorable moment of the tournament, adding that "when everyone's singing 'Country Roads' -- that kind of epitomizes what America is."
Soccer enthusiasts like Cristin Dunn say they have loved being part of the ultimate sing-along with perfect strangers.
"Even after the loss, no one left. And that was what was so beautiful," Dunn told ABC News. "I've been to so many NFL games and NBA games and MLB games and people are making a mad dash to the exit, that is the exact opposite of what happened."
When "Country Roads" started to play, Dunn said it was "so beautiful" to hear "international fans and fans from across the country" alike representing West Virginia on the global stage.
Unlike other iconic American stadium sing-alongs like "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway Park, Dunn said the World Cup moment held a greater meaning.
"It's a big reflection of how incredibly beautiful this country truly is when we all unite together and we rise together instead of divide," she said. "I was just outside myself -- I almost couldn't sing it because I was so affected by just how powerful that was and to hear that song being sung as a representation of being an American. It's a moment I'll never forget."
The sing-alongs have spread like wildfire on social media, with thousands of videos of fans harmonizing to the chorus at the top of their lungs.
The official U.S. Soccer TikTok posted a video of midfielder Weston McKennie singing along from the pitch, clapping and strumming an air guitar, while looking up at the fans echoing the chorus after the team's 2-0 win over Australia in Seattle on June 19.
"Country Roads" was included on the USMNT playlist submitted to FIFA, thanks to Amy Hopfinger -- a former longtime executive at U.S. Soccer who now leads FIFA as the chief strategy and planning officer, according to Major League Soccer.
ABC News has reached out to FIFA and U.S. Soccer for comment.
One TikTok user who has shared dozens of World Cup videos soared to viral acclaim with over 3.5 million views on her vantage point from the field in Seattle as the crowd sang "Country Roads."
This story was originally published on June 26 before the USMNT match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
