The FIFA World Cup 2026™ is coming to the American heartland and there is no one more excited about that than Matt Besler. Born and raised in the Kansas City area, Besler spent the first 12 of his 13 professional seasons with his hometown team, Sporting Kansas City, before hanging up his boots in 2021 and returning there for good.
The former USA national team and 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ player had an active role in bringing this year’s global showpiece to Kansas City, and will no doubt be front and centre when the city hosts its first match at Kansas City Stadium on 16 June when holders Argentina take on Algeria.
Speaking recently with FIFA, Besler talked about the World Cup excitement building in Kansas City, what visiting fans will enjoy there and his memories of Brazil.
Matt Besler: It is really starting to pick up. I would say after the draw, that’s when people started talking about it on a daily basis. There’s still some mystery about the World Cup in our city. Even people who are soccer fans, there’s still an element of, ‘I think I know what’s going to happen, but I’m not quite sure what to expect.’ But that’s exciting.
I think that we have an amazing sports town. We’re fortunate to have multiple professional teams in Kansas City. We have a loyal fan base and we have history. We’re an underrated sports town. We probably don’t get the headlines that some of the bigger markets get, and that’s OK. I think people that have never heard of Kansas City will be very surprised with how big of a sports town we truly are.
As the draw was happening, you’re starting to try to figure it all out in real time of who’s going to be coming. It got to that moment where they were drawing out of the group that was going to be playing in Kansas City. And I think people started feeling like, ‘Oh my gosh, Argentina’s still up on the board. This could happen.’ And sure enough, they pulled out Argentina. There was a huge celebration. It’s a great opportunity for our city to get to watch Argentina.
I think they’re all going to be interesting and unique in their own way. The Netherlands are coming to play, which is awesome. I keep telling people, they have an incredible fan base, just like Argentina. The thing about Netherlands is that orange colour. I don’t personally love the colour orange, but they make it cool. Our city is going to be invaded by thousands of fans from the Netherlands, and they’re just so passionate and proud of their culture, so I think that’s going to be a good one.
Even though we have a big urban downtown and we’re probably still considered a bigger city, Kansas City has that small town community feel. We have a ton of pride for who we are. We like to help each other out. We’re friendly. We’re inviting. We’re the centre of the country in the heart of the Midwest. We have that Midwestern hospitality, which is a real thing. If you haven’t heard of that or experienced that, you will when you come here. Most people, when they leave Kansas City, they have a positive experience because of the people.
I think we have a really cool history. Westport’s a really interesting area. It was basically the start of the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails. We have the National World War I Museum and Memorial. Union Station is one of the focal points and that’s where FIFA Fan Fest is going to be. Union Station was one of the largest railroad stations in the country in its heyday. Food-wise, everyone’s going to start with the barbecue. That’s what Kansas City is famous for. You have got to have some barbecue. I think it’s the best in the world. We have a pretty big jazz scene, and a lot people from here are part of jazz music history, so there’s a lot more to do than people think.
It’s the character, the feeling you get when you walk in, the smells. It’s just such a great place to watch sports. It’s not the most high-tech, it’s not the most fancy, but there’s just something about it. The viewing experience is great. It feels like you’re close to the field. The acoustics of the stadium hold in the noise, so it gets really loud. And then there is the parking lot vibe. Tailgating is what Kansas City is known for. The parking lot is massive. People drive to the game and show up three or four hours before, park their cars, open up their trunks, or pull down their tailgates on their truck and grill out, barbecue, play games and just have fun.
I mean, Kansas City really is all I’ve ever known, except for going away for college and then living a year down in Austin. It’s definitely home for me. It’s shaped me as a person who I am. I’m very grateful that I was able to be shaped and raised in Kansas City. It’s an awesome place to grow up. It’s a great place to raise a family and it’s a very underrated sports town.
One thing I’m excited about this World Cup is actually getting to enjoy it more than I did in Brazil. It was an incredible experience getting to participate and play, but the perspective is so much different. When you’re playing, you’re so locked in to the job and there’s so much pressure that you’re not really able to appreciate what’s happening in some ways.
But I would say when the host country plays, that is an incredible experience. When Brazil had a game, it was awesome. The energy in the country just spread throughout. It was awesome. I loved when Brazil played because just so many people were out, and it was like this celebration, so I can’t wait for the US games. I think it’s going to be awesome.
The range of possibility with this team is bigger than it’s ever been. If this team goes on a run and makes it to the semi-finals or final – I’m not expecting them to do that – but if they did, I wouldn’t be shocked. They could do it for sure. Conversely, if this team doesn’t win a game in the group stage and doesn’t make it through the group, again, I’m not expecting that to happen, but if that did happen, I don’t know if I’d be that shocked.
But I think this team is definitely trending in the right direction. One thing that is challenging is the depth. We’re not as deep as the best teams in the world. They’re just so deep at every position and over the course of a tournament, things happen with injuries, suspensions, so that’s an area where we still have some work to do.
