World Cup: Despite U.S. loss, Phoenix businesses expect booming crowds to continue

PHOENIX - A heartbreaking loss on the night of July 6 brought the U.S. Men's National Team's run at the 2026 World Cup to an end.

"It's a little disappointing to go out like this," one fan said.

"I'm not a huge sports guy unfortunately but I did come to support the US and it seems my support was wasted tonight unfortunately," another supporter stated.

The backstory:

According to the Associated Press, while the U.S. was boosted by the presence of star forward Folarin Balogun, whose one-game red-card suspension was controversially lifted by FIFA, American defenders were at fault in a pair of first-half goals and goalkeeper Matt Freese’s gaffe gave the Red Devils a third early in the second half.

Dig deeper:

The availability of Balogun was not enough for the Stars and Stripes, with some fans saying they wanted more from other stars on the team.

"[Weston] McKennie and [Christian] Pulisic needed to pick up the weight and Pulisic's been spending too much time doing ads recently, not practicing," a fan remarked.

Other fans say they are happy with the performances early on in the tournament.

"I was really surprised with that, especially because the coach was in England before so it was really fun to see them change their style of play a little bit," a fan explained.

Local perspective:

While fans of the U.S. Men's National Team were frustrated and disappointed, but the beauty of the World Cup for local businesses is that the matches do go on for nearly two more weeks, with plenty of other fan bases continuing to show up.

One restaurant in Phoenix, the Kettle Black Kitchen & Pub, is no stranger to soccer fans.

"We open at 5:00 a.m. during the Premier League season and stuff, so we like to categorize ourselves as maybe one of the three or four bars in Phoenix that are actually real soccer bars," owner Jimmy Culleton said.

Culleton says business has been booming during the World Cup, and he is seeing a lot of new faces watching the matches.

"It’s good to see so many people that aren’t normally into futbol let’s call it getting into it now and seeing my social media, stuff like that, it’s growing," Culleton said. "We’re seeing people learn about the game and it’s excelling."

Over at Breakfast B****, they’ve seen huge crowds show out for matches.

"It kind of caught us by surprise a little bit one of the first games that we hosted up here, this whole area, I mean it’s a huge stage area over here, it got so crowded to where we couldn’t even move through the crowds," Breakfast B**** front house lead Brandon Sager said.

Breakfast B**** head chef Triston Buckner added, "I’m a huge football fan so learning about the other futbol is kinda different for me but it’s been a great experience learning about all the different teams and cultures that have been coming through America."

Looking Ahead:

With nearly two weeks left of matches, both businesses are looking forward to offering fans a unique and fun experience.

"We always have good food specials," Culleton said. "We have a good deal with Michelob Ultra where you buy a Michelob Ultra you get a souvenir World Cup mug, yeah, good food, good service."

"They’ve been going crazy for the tacos and the nachos lately, and the wings," Buckner said. "Expect fun times, not too much craziness which is great because usually with large crowds nowadays you get a little crazy but everybody’s been in good spirits and showing good energy."

At The Kettle Black in downtown Phoenix, Culleton reiterated that he is happy to see new faces taking in the matches.

"It's good to see so many people that aren't normally into futbol let's call it getting into it and seeing my social media, lot of people, it's growing and so we're seeing people learning about the game and it's excelling," Culleton said.

Some of those people are now finding a new team to root for over the next couple of weeks.

When asked who they would support next, fans shouted, "France!" "Whoever's playing England!" and "Messi, obviously!"

Another group shared, "Norway, we're rooting for Norway."

"Okay, I can get behind that," a nearby fan responded. "We're rooting for Norway I just heared. Love Norway, let's go Norway!"

What's next:

Belgium takes on Spain this Friday in the quarterfinals.

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