TATG

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These arethe guys.

Ninety-six years of the United States Men's National Team, told for anyone who has ever wanted to be a fan and wasn't sure they were allowed. You are.

Start the story ↓ Take the oath

Tap the sky for fireworks.

E pluribus unum.Out of many, one

This team has always looked like the country. Every kind of American, one shirt.

Scottish-born players and New England mill-town kids in 1930. A Haitian-born student in 1950. Sons of immigrants and sons of soldiers, kids from Pennsylvania farm towns, New York boroughs and Texas suburbs.

You don't have to have played. You don't have to know the offside rule. If you want them to win, you're one of us. This is the story of why that's worth it.

To all whom it may concern

In the summer of 1930, the United States went to the first World Cup.

They crossed the equator by steamship to reach Montevideo, Uruguay. Nobody expected much. Then they won their group without conceding a goal.

July 13
USA 3, Belgium 0One of the first two World Cup matches ever played.
July 17
USA 3, Paraguay 0Bert Patenaude scores the first hat-trick in World Cup history.
July 26
Semifinal: Argentina 6, USA 1The run ends one game short of the final.

Third in the world.

Ninety-six years later, no team from outside Europe and South America has finished higher.

1930The U.S. team,
Montevideo
The 1930 U.S. World Cup team posing in two rows in Montevideo, Uruguay
The United States team in Montevideo, 13 July 1930. Back row: Robert Millar (coach), James Gallagher, Alexander Wood, James Douglas, George Moorhouse, Raphael Tracey, Andrew Auld. Front: James Brown, William Gonsalves, Bert Patenaude, Thomas Florie, Bart McGhee. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
EXTRA Belo Horizonte, Brazil · Thursday, June 29, 1950

U.S. 1
England 0

England invented the game and arrived in Brazil as one of the favorites. The Americans were part-timers. Their goalkeeper drove a hearse. A defender delivered mail. Their center forward washed dishes.

In the 38th minute, Walter Bahr shot from distance and Joe Gaetjens, a Haitian-born student living in New York, threw himself at the ball and headed it in. The Americans held on for 52 minutes.

It is still one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. The story goes that some editors back home assumed the score on the wire was a typo.

Then the lights went out for a while.

40 years.Nine World Cups came and went without them.

Here once the embattled farmers stood, and fired the shot heard round the world.Ralph Waldo Emerson, Concord Hymn, 1837
USA1–0TRI

November 19, 1989 · Port of Spain

Trinidad and Tobago needed a draw to reach the World Cup. The United States needed a win. In the 30th minute, Paul Caligiuri hit a looping left-footed shot from distance over the keeper.

America went to Italy in 1990, its first World Cup in 40 years. They called Caligiuri's goal the shot heard round the world, and American soccer started again.

June 22, 1994 · Rose Bowl, Pasadena

The world came here.

USA2–1COL

America hosted the World Cup for the first time, and the country showed up. More than 93,000 people watched in Pasadena as the United States beat Colombia, one of the tournament favorites, and moved into the knockout round.

That summer set a World Cup attendance record that held until America hosted again in 2026. A lot of people found out that summer that they loved this sport.

7/4

Their run ended against Brazil, the eventual champions, 1–0 at Stanford Stadium. It was the Fourth of July.

June 17, 2002 · Jeonju, South Korea

USA 2,
Mexico 0

The only time the two rivals have met at a World Cup. Brian McBride scored early. Landon Donovan headed in the second. Then the United States took Germany to the wire in the quarterfinal and lost 1–0, its deepest run since 1930.

In qualifying, the US beat Mexico by the same score in Columbus, Ohio, four cycles in a row. The score became a chant.

2001 · 2–02005 · 2–02009 · 2–02013 · 2–0
2–0Dos a ceroTwo to nothing

June 23, 2010 · Pretoria, South Africa

Scroll slowly. USA 0, Algeria 0. A draw sends America home.

Landon Donovan · 90+1′

Tim Howard caught the ball and threw it to Donovan, who ran the length of the field. Jozy Altidore crossed, Clint Dempsey's shot was saved, and Donovan was there to finish it. The United States won its group for the first time since 1930.

Keep scrolling to run the clock

16Saves by Tim Howard

July 1, 2014 · Salvador, Brazil

Belgium threw everything at the American goal and still needed extra time to win 2–1. Tim Howard made 16 saves, the most in a World Cup match since records began in 1966.

That same summer, the country learned a song

Lead the chant.

I

It's call and response. One person shouts a word, everyone shouts it back, and it builds until the whole place says it together. It started at a Naval Academy Prep School basketball game and became the anthem of US fans in Brazil.

October 10, 2017 · Couva, Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago 2, USA 1.

One loss and two other results went the wrong way, and the United States missed the 2018 World Cup, its first absence since 1986.

The fans who stayed are the reason for the next part.

2021

A new generation beat Mexico in two finals in one summer, the Nations League and the Gold Cup.

2022

Back at the World Cup. Christian Pulisic's goal against Iran sent a young US team into the knockout round.

Summer 2026 · Home

The World Cup came home.

June 12 · Group DUSA 4–1 ParaguayFolarin Balogun scores twice. Ninety-six years after 1930, Paraguay again.
June 19 · Group DUSA 2–0 AustraliaGroup D clinched.
June 25 · Group DTürkiye 1–0 USAStill group winners.
July 1 · Round of 32USA 2–0 Bosnia & Herz.The first US knockout win at a World Cup since 2002.
July 6 · Round of 16Belgium 4–1 USASeattle. Malik Tillman's free kick, his second in two knockout games.

Tillman became only the second player in 60 years to score two free-kick goals at a single World Cup. Belgium ended it in Seattle, the same team that ended 2014.

History was there for the taking. It still is.

The whole record, 1930 to 2026

Every World Cup,
at a glance.

Reached the knockout round Group stage Did not qualify or did not enter Hosted at home

The road back to Montevideo

2030

In 2030 the World Cup turns 100. Its opening matches go back to where it began, in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay, before the tournament moves to Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The United States played in the very first one. The road there starts with the next game.

Nobody is born a fan. Somebody brings you.

How to be one
of the guys.

  • Wear it

    Any red, white or blue counts. You don't need a jersey or a player's name on your back. Show up looking like you mean it.

  • Learn one chant

    Start with "I believe that we will win." It's the easiest song in sports and you just practiced it.

  • Find your people

    The American Outlaws have chapters all over the country that host watch parties. Strangers become friends by halftime.

  • Watch the next one

    Check the schedule at ussoccer.com. Friendlies count. Qualifiers count more. Every game is a good first game.

  • Bring somebody

    Every fan was brought by somebody. Next time, you're the somebody.

Six words that make you sound like you've been here for years

Cap

One appearance for the national team. Players count their caps for life.

Stoppage time

Minutes the referee adds at the end of each half for time lost to injuries and delays. Written as 90+1′. Donovan's goal against Algeria came in the first minute of it.

Dos a cero

Spanish for two-nil. The US beat Mexico 2–0 at the 2002 World Cup and in four straight qualifiers in Columbus. Fans hold up two fingers on one hand and a zero with the other.

Clean sheet

A game where your team allows no goals. The goalkeeper and defenders get the credit.

Hat-trick

Three goals by one player in one game. The first in World Cup history belonged to an American, Bert Patenaude, against Paraguay in 1930.

Supporters' group

Organized fans who sing, travel and host watch parties. Joining one is the fastest way to go from watching alone to belonging.

Make it official

Take the oath.

I will stand when they walk out. I will sing when we are losing. I will bring someone new next time.

Add your email to hear about watch parties and new drops. Leave it blank and you still get your card.

Your These Are The Guys fan card

On a phone, press and hold the card to save it. The example card above shows what yours will look like.

O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?Francis Scott Key, 1814

Every time eleven of them walk out of that tunnel.

Take the oath

Behind this: the flag on the Moon, Apollo 11, July 1969. NASA, public domain.