Summer Soccer Fatigue? USMNT, Messi’s Inter Miami Draw Sparse Crowds

One year ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, the overloaded summer of soccer in the U.S. is struggling to gain fans’ attention.

On Thursday night, two teams that should have no problem at all filling up the country’s biggest stadiums played in front of half-empty venues. 

As the U.S. men’s national team defeated Saudi Arabia 1–0 to clinch a spot in the Concacaf Gold Cup knockout round, a meager 11,727 fans turned out to Q2 Stadium. The MLS venue has a capacity of 20,500, and almost always sells out for Austin FC games.

In Atlanta, Inter Miami drew a crowd of just 31,783 fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as Lionel Messi’s second-half goal was the deciding factor in a 2–1 victory over Portugal’s FC Porto in the group stage of the FIFA Club World Cup. Previously, Messi’s presence helped draw crowds of more than 70,000 to the NFL and MLS stadium when Inter Miami visited Atlanta United.

Too Much Soccer?

Both tournaments have dealt with their share of complications as they’ve gotten underway this month.

Ahead of the USMNT’s opening Gold Cup match, head coach Mauricio Pochettino took a shot at the team’s biggest star, Christian Pulisic, who was not permitted to play in two recent friendlies after opting not to play in the tournament. One source inside U.S. Soccer previously told Front Office Sports that the organization isn’t treating the Gold Cup with a lot of promotional urgency.

Meanwhile, the Club World Cup started with some fanfare around its opening matches, but saw attendance numbers drop once weekday matches started earlier this week. The prize money for the tournament is a whopping $1 billion, when including participation bonuses, which is why FIFA has been able to draw many clubs’ top stars.