Football for friends: Winning ways World Cup supporters have gone viral – for the right reasons
Food discoveries, tidy stadiums and bagpipes on the streets of Boston are only the beginning as football fans across the United States, Canada and Mexico have been leaving very distinctive signs of their presence...
Many expected the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be defined by politics. Or prices. Or visa denials. Or any number of headaches potentially awaiting travelling supporters.
Instead, some of the tournament’s biggest talking points have had nothing to do with football at all.
Norwegian fans have taken over a baseball stadium, Scots have charmed Boston bartenders, a German bloke has become America’s biggest Waffle House ambassador, and hordes of visiting fans have discovered the culinary treasure that is ranch salad dressing.
Here are some of the tournament’s most unexpectedly delightful moments, none of which have occurred on the pitch itself. So far.
Norway discovers baseball
Fresh off cheering Norway to victory over Senegal, a group of Vikings swapped football for baseball, heading to New York’s Citi Field on Wednesday afternoon to watch the hometown Mets take on the Chicago Cubs.
Despite knowing next to nothing about America’s pastime, according to one Norwegian fan interviewed on local TV, the group was the loudest and proudest in the stadium.
The fans spent much of the early parts of the game belting out Norway’s now famous Viking row celebration, leaving nearby spectators – and even a local TV reporter interviewing them – baffled and entertained in an otherwise silent sporting venue.
A Cubs reporter peppered them with questions about why they were there, while a Norwegian representative gamely admitted that few understood what was happening on the field, apart from the fact that home runs are good.
Scotland drinks Boston dry
The Tartan Army has built a reputation for travelling well, and Boston has been the latest beneficiary.
Kilt-clad fans packed pubs across the city, serenaded locals with impromptu singalongs and bagpipes, and, according to one city worker, managed to do something unexpected: clean up after themselves after downing an impressive number of beers.
“I’m glad they came,” he said, praising supporters for picking up litter after a day of celebrations. “They conducted [themselves] with class and dignity.”
Scotland supporters didn’t just empty Boston’s pubs, though. They also won over locals.
Thousands marched through the city to Fenway Park after Scotland’s opening win over Haiti, filling the Red Sox stadium with bagpipes, tartan and renditions of the patriotic anthem “Flower of Scotland”.
Afterward, Boston Red Sox president Sam Kennedy wrote to the Scottish FA thanking the Tartan Army for treating the ballpark “like their own”.
Sadly, after last night's 3-nil drubbing by Brazil, Scotland and the Tartan Army could be heading home on Monday if they fail to qualify for the knockout round as one of the best third-placed teams.
Japan does what Japan does
Few World Cup traditions are as well established as Japan’s post-match clean-up.
After Japan’s first World Cup in 1998, fans did as many say they were taught to as kids and cleaned up the stadium. The routine has resurfaced at every tournament since.
After Japan’s 4-0 victory over Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico, supporters once again stayed behind to collect rubbish from the stands.
The gesture has become so expected that stadium officials handed out thousands of rubbish bags before kick-off, anticipating that Japanese supporters would tidy up before leaving. They did exactly that, reviving one of football’s most wholesome traditions.
Germany’s biggest America fan
Whoever said American soft power was dead should talk to the country’s new biggest fan, Freddy.
Posting online as @FreddyLA7, the German superfan has spent the tournament documenting an epic American road trip that has doubled as an enthusiastic review of the country’s diners, fast food chains and roadside attractions.
His unabashed love for Waffle House, Taco Bell and Southern hospitality has earned millions of views, as well as an unexpected invitation to tour the White House.
Kansas rolls out the red carpet
The goodwill hasn’t all flowed in one direction.
When Algeria’s national team arrived in Lawrence, Kansas – not exactly the country’s most cosmopolitan destination – they were greeted not with “The Star-Spangled Banner” but with a rendition of “Kassaman” performed by the University of Kansas marching band. The students had learned the Algerian national anthem especially for the occasion.
The Midwest welcome didn’t stop there. Residents have embraced the Desert Foxes as the city’s adopted team, hanging Algerian flags from shopfronts, organising watch parties and filling downtown with green-and-white bunting.
For a few weeks, at least, this corner of the American heartland has become an unlikely home away from home for Algeria.
And with weeks of football still to play, there will almost certainly be more unexpected friendships, accidental ambassadors, and delightfully odd cultural exchanges to come.
