Two things are bound to have hurt the USMNT fans during yesterday’s knockout match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first, inside the stadium, was Folarin Balogun’s red card. The second (but chronologically the first), outside the Levi’s Stadium, was the outrageous parking fee.

“$200 parking for USMNT’s Round of 32 game,” Yahoo Sports shared via X.

Yes, you heard that right. A cool $200 was charged for parking near Levi’s Stadium! Compare it to some iconic US Stadiums like Yankee Stadium, where parking costs around $50 during the Subway Series. During the 2022 Super Bowl, parking charges shot upwards of $300 at the L. A SoFi Stadium, so the USMNT’s knockout stage game charging $200 tells a lot about soccer’s growing popularity in the US.

Given the USMNT’s current dominance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the fans’ craze was at an all-time high, especially in the Bay Area, where they last played in 1994 at Stanford Stadium. Levi’s Stadium had a sellout crowd of 68,827 on Wednesday to witness the USMNT take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32. While the American fans have every reason to look beyond the NFL and MLB, their support for the USMNT is coming at a cost.

For their final group stage fixture against Turkey, the LA SoFi Stadium charged $200. About 5-12 minutes away, the Kia Forum was charging $400, and another lot reportedly charged up to $600. These prices are evidently an added burden on fans who had to break the bank after the tickets to the game cost a fortune.

For reference, as per TickPick, the get-in price for the USMNT’s game against Bosnia shot up to $1,274 at one point. This makes the USMNT-Bosnia game the third most expensive event in the history of Levi’s Stadium. The venue is topped by two Super Bowls in 2016 and 2026. While the Super Bowl historically stayed at the top of American sports culture, the USMNT’s knockout stage game competing with that is a surprise.

“It was an incredible atmosphere,” a super-fan, Damir Cato, remarked after the Bosnia-Switzerland match at SoFi Stadium. “You could tell it meant a lot to see those players take the field to play for their country.”

Still, ticket price rises were always used as an indicator of how popular the event is, but a $200 parking fee might be going too far for the fans. There are, however, a few other options available for the fans willing to cheer for their team cost-effectively. While the game against Bosnia is over, fans thronging Levi’s Stadium for any future game or event could utilize the VTA light rail. The VTA light rail connects directly to the stadium at the Great America Station. A few parking apps could also come in handy in finding places with cheaper rates.

However, fans who have spent $200 on the USMNT-Bosnia game left the venue with the best ROI.

The USMNT is putting in an incredible performance

After losing the final group stage game against Turkiye, the USMNT coach, Mauricio Pochettino, was left unimpressed. “It cannot be possible that Turkey finishes celebrating the three points, Australia is celebrating the qualification, Paraguay is celebrating the qualification, and I come here, and for you not to say congratulations, that we won the group. That is a little bit sad,” he said about the lack of media enthusiasm.

Well, the USMNT didn’t let the chaos come between their on-field performance. Pochettino asked the team to treat the game against Bosnia as a ‘Final,’ and they just did that. Despite playing with 10 men following a controversial red card to Folarin Balogun, the Americans controlled the match with clinical first-half pressing and a late free-kick stunner.

Pochettino’s squad successfully controlled the tempo, limiting Bosnia’s legendary forward Edin Džeko and their counterattacks despite going down a man. The 10-man USMNT seamlessly shifted into a deep and organized defensive block, the same as they did against Paraguay. This also helped their substitute goalkeeper, Matt Freese, and the backline to comfortably secure a clean sheet.

In the modern era, the USMNT’s best performance was reaching the quarter-finals in 2002. Let’s see if they can now beat the Round 16 hurdle to go beyond their 2002 mark.