How the US finally fell in love with soccer

The Conversation Weekly · Jun 11, 2026 · 25m

When Roberto Baggio missed a penalty in the 1994 Fifa World Cup final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, more than 94,000 people were there to watch Italian heartbreak and Brazilian ecstasy.

To this day, no other World Cup has been as well attended as the 1994 tournament. Tickets were cheap and abundant, and despite the relatively low profile of the game in the US compared to sports like baseball or basketball, people went along to see what it was all about.

Now, three decades later, as the 2026 World Cup returns to North America with games across Mexico, Canada and the US, soccer has…