'Great American Sleepover' softens US image abroad, but World Cup charm campaign hit some bumps

A supersized World Cup tournament and its dizzying array of feel-good social media fodder gave the US image a much-needed boost globally, though concerns over high-level interference and visa difficulties for some fans overshadowed the action on the field at times as the lines between politics and sport blurred.

An annual study of democracy in May showed that global perceptions of the United States under the Trump administration had fallen below those of Russia. A crackdown on immigration, sweeping tariffs and the US and Israeli war on Iran damaged America's standing in the eyes of the world.

But while US President Donald Trump's approval rating at home was at the lowest of his second term early in the tournament, a series of viral social media moments may have softened the world's perspective on Americans – at least temporarily.

The Tartan Army Scottish fan base's love affair with Boston provided one of the tournament's feel-good storylines, as did Algeria's unlikely friendship with Lawrence, Kansas, where they held their training base camp.

And Americans themselves had their eyes opened to soccer's global roar, delivering blockbuster television ratings while packing fan festivals. Fox Sports broke its World Cup records with an average of 5 million American viewers per group-stage match, up 92% from the Qatar World Cup four years ago.

"Clearly, soccer struck an emotional chord in the United States and engaged millions of people who weren't previously big soccer fans," Leigh Steinberg, the agent attorney for the US soccer team the last time the World Cup was played in the states in 1994, told Reuters as the American team moved into the knockout stages.

"World Cup is just the US having a giant sleepover with the cousins we never see because our parents hate each other," wrote X user @JamelleMyBelle.

By Sunday's final, where Trump smiled as he took the field to deliver the trophy even as a chorus of boos from fans rang out at the New York New Jersey Stadium, the American organisers were ready to declare victory.

"America fell in love with the World Cup, and the world fell in love with the United States of America," said Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House task force for the World Cup.

Trump wields World Cup spotlight

But some incidents did not help America's reputation.

A Dallas police officer's heated interaction with Egypt's national team made headlines, while a US television reporter's ill-considered remark that she could not point to Bosnia and Herzegovina on a map soured the run-up to the co-hosts' Round of 32 match against the Balkan team.

Trump's involvement in one of the tournament's biggest controversies, the suspended red-card ban of US striker Folarin Balogun, ignited outrage, even as Fifa insisted the president had no impact on its decision.

And the country that had promised to swing open its doors to the world kept them stubbornly shut for some, denying visas to fans from several nations, according to rights groups.

Jules Boykoff, author of the book Red Card: The 2026 World Cup, Sportswashing, and the Fifa Greed Machine, said the Trump administration had "weaponised" the tournament to its advantage.

"The rest of the world is like, whoa, this is putting fairness in jeopardy," Boykoff told reporters at a Sport & Rights Alliance media briefing. "But domestically, he can say, 'See, I'm a strong man who gets these international institutions to bend to my will'."