The expectations of this year’s US Men’s Soccer Team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup are at an all-time high. And after finishing at the top of their group, fans are expecting the USMNT to make a deep run. But if they don’t, the fans shouldn’t be too surprised, and Jason Kelce knows the exact reason.
“My good buddy Alejandro Villanueva, who grew up in Spain, and we have arguments about why the United States isn’t more competitive on the world stage… I think we lose a lot of our best athletes to other sports,” said the former NFL superstar on the Unfiltered Soccer Podcast.
The United States has always faced questions about the quality of football they play when compared to some of the other nations. But this World Cup has all been about breaking through that stigma and showing the quality of the players they have.
If America’s best athletes played soccer, could they win the World Cup?
Jason Kelce subscribes to this a little bit but acknowledges that soccer is more of a skill game.
“I actually don’t think it’s beneficial to play American football – that beneficial – before you’re in… pic.twitter.com/hK6ntsAZvN
— Unfiltered Soccer (@UnfilteredSoccr) June 30, 2026
After finishing the group on top and going against Bosnia in the Round of 32, they are looking to make a deep run. But fans and analysts still believe that they will not make it past the Quarterfinals, and Jason Kelce thinks that it is because of how many players choose other sports over soccer.
Jason Kelce believes that the United States can easily become one of the top teams if athletes start to choose soccer over sports like football and basketball.
“I would say I subscribe to it a little bit. I think that it’s true that I think we lose a lot of our best athletes to other sports,” said the former NFL star.
Soccer remains extremely popular for children aged 6 to 12, often matching or outnumbering tackle football in raw participation. By high school, however, the landscape changes: cultural prestige, college scholarships and the prospect of lucrative NFL or NBA careers encourage many of the most physically gifted teenagers to specialize in football or basketball instead of continuing with soccer.
And Kelce’s other reason for many people choosing other sports over soccer is because of how skill-oriented it is. He gave an example of how easy it is to get into the NFL when compared to the top level of soccer.
Kelce said, “There’s a reason there’s not players that start playing later in life, and they’re some of the best soccer players in the world.”
“In football, I played with a guy (Jordan) Mailata that had never played football in his life, and he just started in the NFL,” said the NFL legend.
The only way for any nation to inspire the youth system to invest in a sport is by making an impact. And that is what the Americans are doing this FIFA World Cup. And if the USA manages to beat a European Giant in the coming stages, there is a very good chance that the quality of Soccer might start to go up.
Jason Kelce also wants the quality of USA fans to go up in the World Cup
Jason Kelce has watched some of football’s biggest stages, but one American soccer tradition still bothers him.
Speaking on the New Heights podcast, Kelce slammed the famous “I believe that we will win” chant.
He said, “That is the f*****g most loser mentality chant I have ever heard in my entire life.”
The chant became popular before the 2014 FIFA World Cup after appearing in ESPN commercials in the USA. Instead of inspiring confidence, Kelce believed those words sounded like something that would make the team more uncertain than give them energy.
But did Kelce admit that he once joined the chant himself, but those memories are one of the reasons why he is so against it.
He said, “I felt like a complete loser.”
Kelce also called it “a weird f****g chant” before adding, “It’s a f*****g shitty chant.”
His opinion changed after watching Brazilian supporters who created a louder and more confident atmosphere throughout World Cup matches in 2014. Those packed stadiums showed him how powerful fan support could help the team get the upper hand in games.
That experience reminded Kelce of one Brazilian chant that stayed with him long after leaving Brazil.
He recalled the moment and said, “They’re saying something like, ‘Chi chi chi! Le le le!'” during one of the World Cup games. After asking its meaning, Kelce said the Brazilians replied, saying, “We came here to f**k Chile,” leaving him impressed.
He responded, “Yeah, they’re better at it. They’re better at it than we are.” Kelce later suggested American fans should also start going at the other team with their chants, saying, “It needs to be, ‘I believe that we can f**k you up!'”
For now, the World Cup is still ongoing, and it remains to be seen how accurate his prediction is.
