CHICAGO -- United States coach Mauricio Pochettino said he could finally feel the excitement he expected to see from the American fanbase during his team's 2-1 loss to Germany on Saturday at Soldier Field -- its final game before the start of the World Cup.
The match was played in front of a sellout crowd of 63,636 and came just days after a crowd of 57,741 watched the U.S. defeat Senegal in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Right back Sergiño Dest said he was "pretty surprised" by the crowd in Charlotte, and Pochettino and midfielder Tyler Adams raved about the Chicago crowd after Saturday's match.
"Maybe my expectation, or my mistake, was expecting the excitement around the U.S. team a year and a half ago to be what it is today," Pochettino said. "That was probably my mistake. We had to build that excitement again. When we started this journey towards the World Cup a year and a half ago, maybe we expected too much too soon.
"But now you can really feel it."
With the U.S. having automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup due to hosting duties, it's been a bit more difficult to engage the American soccer audience in recent years. Not including two Nations League doubleheaders in 2024 (which also featured Mexico matches), only one U.S. game had topped 35,000 in attendance until this spring, and 12 of 16 had drawn under 21,000.
But attendance and excitement have picked up as the World Cup has approached, even with multigoal losses in a pair of well-attended spring friendlies.
"Yeah, incredible. This is what you kind of wish for no matter if it's a sendoff game or a regular game," Adams said after the game. "These are the atmospheres we need. I mean, obviously Chicago's an unreal sport city and they love football, but it's incredible to be sent off like that with fans that are so passionate about the game."
Despite allowing a set piece goal to Kai Havertz in the second minute, the Americans controlled most of the next hour of play and equalized before halftime on a stunning volley from Antonee Robinson.
Leroy Sané's goal in the 57th minute gave the visitors the lead again, and the U.S. forced a few late saves before time expired.
"You concede the goal from the beginning, the first action of the game, and then the reaction was really positive," Pochettino said after the game.
From the third minute through the 56th, the U.S. attempted 11 shots to Germany's seven, generated 0.8 expected goals to Germany's 0.43 and, most importantly, equalized thanks to Robinson.
"To see how we react," Pochettino said. "To see how we show character, show togetherness and play under pressure -- in that moment [of Havertz's goal] I was upset, of course, but it was good for us to see the reaction of the team. The reaction was amazing."
The USMNT's World Cup journey begins against Paraguay on Friday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.