{"id":864669,"date":"2026-06-13T14:20:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/864669\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T14:20:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:20:20","slug":"u-s-fans-enjoy-inexpensive-world-cup-energy-at-coliseum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/864669\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. fans enjoy inexpensive World Cup energy at Coliseum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tickets to watch the U.S. dominate Paraguay 4-1<\/a> on Friday night at Inglewood\u2019s SoFi Stadium<\/a> cost a fortune. But roughly nine miles north, fans such as Jose Santiago and Ivan Gonzalez enjoyed the match at a fraction of the price.<\/p>\n

The pair each paid $10 for a ticket to watch the Stars and Stripes flourish in their first World Cup game on home soil in 32 years on big screens at the packed Coliseum on Day 2 of the Los Angeles FIFA Fan Festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe bought these tickets [at the] last minute, not knowing what to expect,\u201d said Santiago, of Fullerton. \u201cAnd so far, we\u2019ve been blown away. We definitely want to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s dope,\u201d added Gonzalez, of Yorba Linda. \u201cYou feel it. You feel the game. You feel the atmosphere. It\u2019s fun. Everyone\u2019s into it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Food and drink options. Pop-up tents featuring brands such as Galaxy<\/a> and LAFC<\/a>. A rare on-field experience at the home of USC<\/a> football. And, of course, some good \u2018ol collective effervescence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes you still feel like you\u2019re a part of it,\u201d Santiago said of his viewing experience. \u201cIt still makes you feel like you\u2019re at the stadium, because we\u2019re all watching the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. took care of business in its World Cup opener. Presumably, those who could afford the intimidating ticket and parking prices at SoFi Stadium considered the experience worthwhile.<\/p>\n

Santiago and Gonzalez, however, spoke for many who cherished their inexpensive night at the Coliseum, in the City of Angels itself, during their nation\u2019s statement victory.<\/p>\n

\"Fans <\/p>\n

Fans cheer during a watch party at the Coliseum during the U.S. win over Paraguay Friday night.<\/p>\n

(Mario Tama \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Several other attendees would agree \u2014 even those who aren\u2019t backing the U.S.<\/p>\n

Take Charlotte Cabeca, a 37-year-old from downtown L.A., is primarily rooting for Colombia \u2014 as well as \u201canybody from South America\u201d \u2014 but was still grateful for the opportunity to watch the beautiful game with other fans at a bargain.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so fun,\u201d Cabeca said with a laugh, as \u201cUSA\u201d chants rang in the background. \u201cIt\u2019s a really kid-friendly and family-oriented [environment.] It\u2019s not as hectic as I had anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cabeca said she\u2019ll attend more fan events in L.A. throughout the tournament, as Friday marked \u201cthe closest we can get [and] that we can afford\u201d compared to actually attending a World Cup match.<\/p>\n

\"U.S. <\/p>\n

U.S. fans celebrate during a watch party at the Coliseum as Americans beat Paraguay during the World Cup Friday.<\/p>\n

(Mario Tama \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Perhaps more important, though, Cabeca appreciates the community engagement unfolding before her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that the city is coming together,\u201d Cabeca said. \u201cI feel the unity. And even these fanfests, they bring us together. So even if we\u2019re not at the game, it still brings all of us together as a country.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome. The traffic is not helpful, but other than that, it\u2019s exciting. I really feel like everybody is for soccer right now, and that\u2019s what we need right now to heal and be happy together.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Friday was a night of smiles, chants and relative affordability, there remain fans who wish FIFA and the U.S. would do more to make the World Cup more accessible, particularly by making everything, well, cheaper<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, football is a very hard sport to monetize, because we don\u2019t have the breaks like the NFL,\u201d Kunal Mehrotra, a 25-year-old soccer fan from Koreatown, prefaced before saying, \u201cWithout the fans, it isn\u2019t really a World Cup. So, it is disappointing from the U.S., and it\u2019s not just the tickets. \u2026 It really shows that the U.S. is in it for the money and not at all for the football, which is disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty ridiculous,\u201d added Monica Unzueta, a Maywood resident and fan of Mexico and Spain. \u201cBut aye, at least FIFA\u2019s holding some events. I mean, they should be free. But, I don\u2019t know \u2014 that\u2019s just FIFA.\u201d<\/p>\n

While they\u2019d rather attend a World Cup game live, as Mehrotra and Unzueta noted, that isn\u2019t realistic for most residents.<\/p>\n

So, nights such as Friday at the Coliseum are the next-best thing.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A fan wears an American flag during a World Cup watch party at the Coliseum on Friday.<\/p>\n

(Mario Tama \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

And for fans such as Tyler David, a 24-year-old from Tampa, Fla., the trip to the home of the Trojans couldn\u2019t have gone better.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond belief,\u201d David said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s so cool to see everybody and the cultures colliding. Love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, and the USA\u2019s big victory was splendid for fans too.<\/p>\n

\u201cDude, absolutely magnificent,\u201d David said, in disbelief of the U.S. leading 3-0 after 45 minutes against Paraguay. \u201cChristian Pulisic, [coach Mauricio] Pochettino, all the guys, [Timothy] Weah. They\u2019re playing at the top of the charts right now. I love to see it on the home soil in L.A.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s getting me fired up; the fan base, the environment, the atmosphere \u2014 through the freaking roof.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tickets to watch the U.S. dominate Paraguay 4-1 on Friday night at Inglewood\u2019s SoFi Stadium cost a fortune.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":864670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[10],"tags":[352456,58324,1888,2378,1910,352291,352459,352460,352457,58326,62,38518,1439,352458,67,132,68,56014,352287],"class_list":["post-864669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-charlotte-cabeca","tag-coliseum","tag-fan","tag-friday-night","tag-game","tag-home-soil","tag-inexpensive-night","tag-ivan-gonzalez","tag-jose-santiago","tag-sofi-stadium","tag-sports","tag-ticket","tag-u-s","tag-u-s-fan","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-usc-football","tag-world-cup-opener"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116743244643726210","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}