Soccer fans visiting the United States for the 2026 World Cup are discovering American culture — and many are documenting their experiences on social media, going viral for their awestruck reactions to everyday wonders like Buc-ees, Waffle House and Walmart.
A German soccer fan known as Freddy has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on X during his trip through the Deep South, marveling at the size of American football stadiums and gas stations as well as the availability of fast food.
“The holy land,” he wrote in a post on X alongside a photo of a Taco Bell near Atlanta before sightseeing in northern Georgia.
Freddy dined at a Waffle House the following morning.
“Just had our first Waffle House experience at 1am,” he wrote. “Great food, great prices, and friendly staff. 10/10, we will be coming back.😋”
While taking in a World Cup warm-up at Auburn University’s 88,000-seat stadium, Freddy took a video of the War Eagle’s traditional pregame flight.
“This is the most ‘The European mind can’t comprehend this’ moment of my life,” he wrote.
It appears Freddy isn’t alone.
At a diner in Indianapolis, Elsa, a soccer fan from Sweden, discovered ranch dressing and demanded it be exported to Europe.
“Why did no one tell me ranch sauce is like crack? EUROPE WE NEED RANCH ASAP,” she wrote.
Tommo, a soccer fan from Leeds, England, who has been documenting his beer-fueled World Cup journey through the Midwest, wondered if ranch was an acceptable pizza dipping sauce.
Fiago, another German soccer fan and YouTuber, had some “proper Chicago” fare at Portillo’s.
“They have a milkshake with cake in the cup,” he wrote on X. “It’s ridiculous.”
He also witnessed a pregame flyover for the first time.
And Fiago even experienced a good ol’ American sunburn.
In New Jersey, the Park Wood deli in Midland Park has been welcoming World Cup fans from Europe like Irban from Norway (who ordered a meatball Parmesan sandwich), and Ed and his fiancée, Kelsey, both from London, who ordered the chicken Parm and eggplant Parm, respectively.
Meanwhile in Texas, Japanese soccer fans have been enjoying barbecue, barbecue and more barbecue.
A bus taking orange-clad soccer fans from the Netherlands to Sunday’s World Cup opener against Japan at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, made a pit stop at Buc-ees, prompting a local Fox affiliate’s “alert.”
Unsurprisingly, Freddy’s already been to one.
And in Boston, the Tartan Army of kilt-wearing Scottish soccer fans followed Scotland’s win in its first World Cup appearance in 28 years by marching to Fenway Park, packing the bars behind the Green Monster to celebrate.
Shaun, a Scottish soccer fan whose wife got a “minor case of food poisoning” during their World Cup trip, posted a video of the hospital in Taunton, Mass., where she was treated.
“It was a tremendous experience. The staff in this place were phenomenal,” he said. “10 out of 10 experience in a hospital.”
