Enthusiastic group of U.S. fans on hand for game against Belgium
More than 200,000 World Cup tickets were sold in the United States. Only Brazil, the host nation, bought more.
And a good portion of those fans followed the U.S. team around the country for its three group-play games.
Now comes the knockout round.
The crowd was smaller but no less enthusiastic at Salvador’s Arena Fonta Nova on Tuesday for the Americans’ game against Belgium, a winner-take-all contest that will see the victor go on to play Argentina in Saturday’s quarterfinal while the loser goes home.
A Northern Californina soccer coach and tournament director named Mark Torguson was on hand, dressed as George Washington while other fans came wearing shirts, hats, shorts and bandannas in the colors of the American flag. Others wore the actual flag, tying it in a knot around their neck like a superhero’s cape.
When the U.S. took the field under cloudy skies about 50 minutes before, the fans already in the arena broke into loud applause while others shouted, “USA! USA! USA!”
“It means a lot to us,” U.S. Coach Juergen Klinsmann said. “You know, packed stadiums, enthusiastic crowds and energies there. So we want to do extra well for all those fans, because it’s a cool moment right now, so we want to connect.”
