Tuesday was a big day for the U.S. men’s national team, but that didn’t exactly motivate fans to crowd TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.
The USMNT hosted New Zealand in a friendly that kicked off less than an hour after Mauricio Pochettino was, at long last, officially confirmed as the team’s new head coach. It was exciting news, but a stadium that is generally packed to the gills for FC Cincinnati’s MLS matches was noticeably far short of that as the U.S. took on the All Whites.
The visibly smaller crowd comes on the heels of a 2-1 loss to Canada that saw an announced attendance of 10,523 at Children’s Mercy Park. By contrast, Sporting Kansas City’s average attendance in MLS play this season is 22,476 (per FBref). While an attendance figure for Tuesday’s match was not initially available at the time of publication, navy blue or orange empty seats were apparent.
The issue has been a sore spot for U.S. Soccer in recent years, with ticket prices often being cited by fans as part of the problem. Additionally, Ohio’s two MLS stadiums — Lower.com Field in Columbus being the other — have become very common venues for friendlies for both the USMNT and the women’s national team. Both stadiums hosted World Cup qualifiers in 2021, and TQL Stadium hosted a USWNT friendly against South Africa last September, and a USMNT friendly against Morocco in 2022. Lower.com Field, meanwhile, hosted a SheBelieves Cup doubleheader in April.
It isn’t helping that the federation has struggled to find appealing opponents, as the UEFA Nations League and CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying directly conflict with what are just friendlies for a USMNT side that has nothing to qualify for until after the 2026 World Cup. Canada is the USMNT’s second-most familiar foe in recent years behind Mexico, while New Zealand sits 94th in the latest FIFA rankings.
Whatever the reason, fans in the Queen City stayed home, and it was hard not to notice.