On America's 250th Birthday, U.S. Soccer Team of Immigrants Carries Founders' Dream

On July 4th — America's 250th birthday — the U.S. men's national soccer team gathered for a morning practice. The team is getting ready for a World Cup elimination game against Belgium. What makes this team special is who is on it: players from many different countries and backgrounds, coming together to wear one jersey and represent the United States.

The 26-player roster includes six players who were born in other countries. Five more were born in the U.S. to parents who immigrated here. Two others have immigrant grandparents or great-grandparents. Almost half of the players hold citizenship in two countries. Yet every single one of them plays with the American flag on their chest.

Team captain Tim Ream said being together on Independence Day felt extra meaningful. 'It is special. Obviously, doubly special because it's during a World Cup and triple special because it's here in the U.S.,' he said. 'As a group, with all our different backgrounds, it's a true representation of what America is. It's a melting pot of people, of personalities, of characters.' Ream's words capture something important about both the team and the country itself.

The team is coached by Mauricio Pochettino, who was born in Argentina. He loves country music and only recently learned how to throw a baseball. Last week, he threw the first pitch at a Seattle Mariners game — and it was a strike. Striker Folarin Balogun said that kind of story 'can only happen in America.' Balogun grew up in England with Nigerian parents but was born in Brooklyn, New York, which made him a U.S. citizen by birthright.

This mix of backgrounds actually mirrors the people who founded America. Eight of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence were immigrants. Eight of the 55 men who wrote the Constitution were also immigrants. That is roughly the same share of immigrants on today's World Cup team. About 20 of the Founding Fathers were the children of immigrants — again, very close to the same percentage as players on the current national team.

One of America's founders, James Wilson, came to the colonies from Scotland when he was 22 years old. He believed strongly that immigrants made America stronger. Wilson argued against rules that would stop talented foreigners from coming to the country. He thought a steady stream of newcomers would give the nation the energy it needed to grow and thrive.

The Declaration of Independence even criticized King George III for trying to block immigration to the colonies. The founders saw immigration as a key strength of the new nation. That belief is still alive today — on the soccer field and beyond. Adam Sawyer, a researcher who studies global migration and sports, said, 'That is the U.S. experience of taking different people from all over the world, the immigrant experience, and mixing it into something that the world has never seen.'

Some players' family stories show just how deep those immigrant roots run. Christian Pulisic's grandfather moved to the U.S. from the former Yugoslavia looking for a better life. Goalkeeper Matt Turner's ancestors fled religious persecution in Lithuania. Midfielder Cristian Roldan's parents escaped civil wars in El Salvador and Guatemala and were later allowed to stay in the U.S. through a government program started by President Reagan.

Soccer in America has always had strong ties to immigrant communities. After World War II, the best amateur soccer teams had names like the Philadelphia Ukrainian Nationals and the New York German-Hungarian SC. Joe Gaetjens, a Haitian immigrant, scored the famous goal that beat England in the 1950 World Cup. Today, the national team continues that tradition by welcoming players with roots from around the world.

Faisal Al-Juburi, whose own parents immigrated from Iraq, works for RAICES, a nonprofit that helps immigrants in Texas. He said, 'This soccer team is reflecting America at its best. Its global roots, its shared purpose, its one jersey.' He also compared America not to a melting pot — where differences disappear — but to a gumbo, where every ingredient keeps its own flavor while making the whole dish better.

Jules Boykoff, a political science professor and former U.S. youth soccer player, said the team sends a powerful message just by existing. 'They don't have to say anything. They just have to be who they are and do their best on the pitch,' he said. When this team wins, it proves that diversity can be a true strength. That lesson, first written into America's founding documents 250 years ago, is still being played out on soccer fields today.