BOSTON — U.S. Men’s National Team fans watched on with disappointment as their team fell 3-1 to the Netherlands Saturday morning. “Very disappointing opening round, but still proud of the boys,” said Mike Flynn, of Boston. “We had a good run, we definitely outshined more than we thought we would in the group stages.”
Flynn was one of many fans packed into Irish sports pub The Banshee in Dorchester to watch the game.
“This is the best place where everybody comes to watch soccer,” said Griffin Kurzius, of Boston. “There’s nothing like it, every four years getting everyone together to watch soccer.” The Banshee also serves as the American Outlaws Boston chapter’s headquarters.
While fans were disappointed with Saturday’s match, they don’t plan on tuning out for the rest of the World Cup. “This [the World Cup] only gets to come once every four years, and this is the only time I’ll ever be able to see this during a holiday season, we’ll never see another World Cup during the holiday season,” said Josh Addie, of Wakefield. “I love the sport, we all love the sport, so we will all watch it and that’s just the way it is.”
The American Outlaws is a United States soccer supporter group with 200 local chapters across the country, including three in Massachusetts.
After not qualifying during the last World Cup, fans were excited to see the team back on the global stage.
“All I can ask for is they played their hearts out,” said Addie. “At the end of the day, we knew they were eventually going to go out, but what really mattered was it was the first time in eight years we got to see them play on the world stage, and next summer we get to go see the women go and hopefully win it.”
Many fans are already looking ahead to the next World Cup in 2026.
“High hopes for 2026,” said Flynn. “We’re back at home so hope for the best.”
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