Stadium sing-alongs are arguably more essential to soccer than any other sport, and the best squads all have their signature anthem. For England’s Liverpool F.C., it’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” For Spain’s Real Madrid, it’s “Hala Madrid.” For the French national team, it’s “I Will Survive.”
And now, it seems, Team USA finally has an anthem of its own: John Denver’s 1971 folk-pop classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
The fingerpicked ode to West Virginia’s almost “heavenly” charms — which neither the New Mexico-born Denver nor his cowriters had ever actually experienced when they penned it — first blared from the loudspeakers in Seattle after America’s 2-0 victory over Australia on Friday, June 19.
The fans — and the players — spontaneously sang along.
A nearly identical scene — more in consolation than celebration this time — unfolded after America’s 3-2 loss to Turkey in Los Angeles a few days later.
And “Country Roads” will play again Wednesday evening in Santa Clara, Calif., when the team faces Bosnia and Herzegovina in its first — and, hopefully, not last — knockout game, according to Amy Hopfinger, the FIFA World Cup chief strategy officer who chose the song as one of two potential U.S. anthems.
“Oh,” Hopfinger scoffed when the Athletic asked if it would return. “I don’t think you break that streak now. Come on.”
How did ‘Country Roads’ happen?
Like many anthem origin stories, this one started with some premeditation before taking on a life of its own. (Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez commissioned an all-new version of “Hala Madrid” in 2014, for instance. But that didn’t guarantee it would catch on like it did.)
In the case of “Country Roads,” U.S. Soccer initially said the team submitted it to FIFA — along with Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” — when asked for potential tracks to play after wins.
But Hopfinger, who had previously spent 18 years working at U.S. Soccer, told the Athletic that “Country Roads” “wasn’t one of [the players’] original submissions.” Instead, Hopfinger selected it herself after seeing England fans serenade their team with Oasis’s “Wonderwall” on June 17 and going back and forth with colleagues, “talking about what other games, and what other songs, might create those moments.”
Alex Freeman of the United States celebrates after making a goal against Australia.
(Jared C. Tilton – FIFA via Getty Images)
Two days later, with the U.S. leading Australia 2-0 at the final hydration break, Hopfinger texted the World Cup’s head of production, events and entertainment: “This is it. This is the game. This is where we’re gonna do this.”
They played “Livin’ on a Prayer” first after the final whistle, but it didn’t click. Why? Because when it comes to soccer sing-alongs, planning can only take you so far. The chorus of “Country Roads,” already a staple at college football games, Japanese rugby matches, Korean karaoke sessions and all manner of West Virginia functions, just hit different. It was easier to belt, easier to feel and easier to share — in that moment — with 67,000 new best friends.
“That song’s popular all over the world,” U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, who grew up in London, told the Athletic.
“It is very symbolic of America,” added wingback Max Arfsten.
“To see the guys enjoying themselves, and singing along with it,” captain Tim Ream recalled, “it’s one of those moments where you look up and you’re like: ‘Is this real life?'”
What’s next
Two matches in, “Country Roads” is gaining momentum, online and off. Search is up 50% over last month. Spotify streams spiked by 74% on June 19. Videos of the U.S. sing-alongs have racked up millions of views on TikTok and Instagram. The track has been played at non-USA games, too, and fans there — at Czechia vs. South Africa, at Spain vs. Saudi Arabia — have continued to chant even after the loudspeakers go silent.
Some have tried to argue that “Country Roads” is resonating right now because of politics — either as an embrace of President Trump’s so-called Golden Age, or as an escape from it. But as Frank Ahrens recently argued in the Washington Post, the song’s potent nostalgia is too universal to belong to any one party, faction or even country.
“Going home, to a place where one belongs. Home can be a place, or it can be something else — a family, a team, a community,” Ahrens wrote. “Soft power scholars and countries may study this phenomenon for years. But they won’t be able to replicate it. You cannot reverse engineer ‘Country Roads.'”
And if the U.S. continues to advance in this year’s World Cup, you won’t be able to escape it either.
