{"id":380756,"date":"2026-06-30T15:22:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/380756\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T15:22:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:22:35","slug":"u-s-soccer-heads-for-historic-world-cup-battle-at-levis-stadium-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/380756\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Soccer heads for historic World Cup battle at Levi’s Stadium"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2013 Today, PayPal Park for practice. Wednesday, the world \u2026 or simply World Cup<\/a> survival for the United States\u2019 side at Levi\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n

Poised as arguably the biggest soccer game in Bay Area history, the U.S. faces Bosnia and Herzegovina<\/a> at 5 p.m. in the Round of 32.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0US World Cup match in Bay Area: What fans should know about tickets, events and tailgating<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot wait. I\u2019ve not been this excited for a U.S. match, including the ones I played in, in my entire life,\u201d Landon Donovan, a former forward for Team USA and the San Jose Earthquakes, said on Fox Sports\u2019 France-Norway broadcast Friday. \u201cI\u2019ll be there and I know the fans will show up again. What an opportunity for this group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Team USA has been here before, literally.<\/p>\n

The Bay Area\u2019s World Cup zenith came in July 4 games against Brazil at Stanford Stadium, by the 1994 men (1-0 loss, Round of 16) and the 1999 women (2-0 win, semifinals). Patriotism and stakes ran high, obviously.<\/p>\n

This United States squad certainly isn\u2019t sneaking onto home soil and succeeding in the largest and most-attended World Cup ever.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the U.S. to play in a home World Cup, I can\u2019t imagine for those players what that feeling must be like, to do it in front of your family, your friends, your own community and your country,\u201d Australia midfielder Jackson Irvine said on his way out of Levi\u2019s Stadium after Thursday\u2019s 0-0 draw with Paragua<\/a>y.<\/p>\n

Jackson was a second-half sub when Australia fell 2-0 to the U.S. on June 19 in Seattle, before a patriotic and pulsating crowd of 66,925.<\/p>\n

More will show at Levi\u2019s Stadium, home of the 49ers since 2014. Its World Cup capacity is 68,827, and five group-stage matches averaged 68,503 despite a lack of star power<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the biggest U.S. game ever, and most important,\u201d said Josh McKay, a Bay Area native and former pro soccer player who runs McKay\u2019s Beer Garden in Pleasanton. \u201cBecause of the new media outlets, everybody knows about this game. These U.S. players are on TV every week, are in media ads daily, make big money and have been part of the soccer realm for years. We know these players.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0Oral history: The USMNT\u2019s near \u2018miracle on grass\u2019 against Brazil in the 1994 World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n

Home-field advantage did not ensure Team USA an undefeated path through the group stage, though it\u2019s opening two triumphs locked up first place before Thursday\u2019s 3-2, last-minute loss to Turkey down the coast in Inglewood.<\/p>\n

Now the U.S. takes on Group B\u2019s third-place survivor: Bosnia and Herzegovina. As for the swath of red-white-and-blue-clad fans that await, perhaps that will add fuel for the underdogs. \u201cWhen you feel you\u2019re in an away atmosphere, us players thrive on it and enjoy that backs-against-the-wall mentality,\u201d Australia\u2019s Jackson added.<\/p>\n

The Bay Area is no stranger to sensational soccer matches. From Pel\u00e9 playing against the San Jose Earthquakes twice in the 1970s, to Lionel Messi\u2019s sold-out visit<\/a> to 18,000-seat PayPal Park last May, headliners have come.<\/p>\n

In eras gone by, we\u2019ve seen the Soviet Union play in San Francisco during the Cold War, the 1984 Olympics make encores at Stanford Stadium, Cuba come to the Coliseum, and, quite often, Mexico draw a big crowd<\/a>, such as when it beat Honduras in the CONCACAF Gold Cup last July before 70,925 in the largest soccer crowd ever at Levi\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n

There\u2019ve been visits by European clubs, Copa America battles, and, of course, MLS\u2019 1996 launch which saw Eric Wynalda\u2019s groundbreaking goal lift the San Jose Clash to victory before 31,683 at Spartan Stadium.<\/p>\n

No, there won\u2019t be a champion crowned here Wednesday night. But let\u2019s give a shout-out to championship-winning squads sprouting from the Bay Area beyond the Earthquakes (2001, \u201903 in MLS; 1975 NASL indoors). The U.S. Open Cup, this nation\u2019s oldest soccer tournament, was won by the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club (1976), the San Francisco Greek American Club (1985 and \u201994), San Jose Oaks (1992) and San Francisco\u2019s El Farolito legendary club (1993). Other titles in since-defunct leagues went to the 1991 San Francisco Bay Blackhawks (APSL), the 2010 FC Gold Pride (WPS), and the 2017 San Francisco Deltas (NASL). The college ranks saw NCAA men\u2019s championships won by USF (1966, \u201975, 76, 78, \u201980), Stanford (2015-17), Santa Clara (1989), and Sonoma State (2002), while NCAA women\u2019s winners hailed from Santa Clara (2001, 2020), Stanford (2011, \u201917, \u201919), Sonoma State (1990), and Cal State East Bay (1988).<\/p>\n

Here is a list of all U.S. Soccer men\u2019s and women\u2019s competitions in the Bay Area, as compiled by that organization:<\/p>\n

SAN JOSE<\/p>\n

PayPal Park<\/p>\n

Men<\/p>\n

March 24, 2017 vs. Honduras 6-0 W * 17,729<\/p>\n

Feb. 2, 2019 vs. Costa Rica 2-0 W 13,656<\/p>\n

June 15, 2025 vs. Trinidad & Tobago 5-0 W ^ 12,610<\/p>\n

Women<\/p>\n

May 10, 2015 vs. Ireland 3-0 W (SO) 18,000<\/p>\n

Nov. 10, 2016 vs. Romania 8-1 W 16,425<\/p>\n

Nov. 12, 2017 vs. Canada 3-1 W 17,960<\/p>\n

Sept. 4, 2018 vs. Chile 4-0 W 14,340<\/p>\n

July 9, 2023 vs. Wales 2-0 W (SO) 18,000<\/p>\n

Spartan Stadium<\/p>\n

Men<\/p>\n

May 16, 1998 vs. FYR Macedonia 0-0 D 23,861<\/p>\n

Nov. 6, 1998 vs. Australia 0-0 D 15,074<\/p>\n

May 26, 2003 vs. Wales 2-0 W 12,282<\/p>\n

June 2, 2007 vs. China PR 4-1 W 20,821<\/p>\n

Women<\/p>\n

May 9, 1997 vs. England 5-0 W 17,358<\/p>\n

April 26, 1998 vs. Argentina 7-0 W 14,608<\/p>\n

Sept. 1, 2000 vs. Brazil 4-0 W (SO) 26,853<\/p>\n

April 27, 2002 vs. Finland 3-0 W 11,990<\/p>\n

Sept. 7, 2003 vs. Mexico 5-0 W 13,510<\/p>\n

July 28, 2007 vs. Japan 4-1 W 11,290<\/p>\n

SANTA CLARA<\/p>\n

Levi\u2019s Stadium<\/p>\n

Men<\/p>\n

June 3, 2016 vs. Colombia 0-2 L 67,439<\/p>\n

July 26, 2017 vs. Jamaica 2-1 W ^ 63,032<\/p>\n

Women<\/p>\n

May 12, 2019 vs. South Africa 3-0 W 22,788<\/p>\n

OAKLAND<\/p>\n

Coliseum<\/p>\n

Men<\/p>\n

Feb. 1, 1998 vs. Cuba 3-0 W ^ 11,234<\/p>\n

Feb. 7, 1998 vs. Costa Rica 2-1 W ^ 36,240<\/p>\n

Jan. 27, 2001 vs. China 2-1 W 8,903<\/p>\n

PALO ALTO<\/p>\n

Stanford Stadium<\/p>\n

Men<\/p>\n

Feb. 24, 1990 vs. Soviet Union 1-3 L 62,000<\/p>\n

May 19, 1991 vs. Argentina 0-1 L 31,761<\/p>\n

April 4, 1992 vs. China 5-0 W 31,815<\/p>\n

Feb. 21, 1993 vs. Russia 0-0 D 25,879<\/p>\n

Dec. 18, 1993 vs. Germany 0-3 L 52,397<\/p>\n

July 4, 1994 vs. Brazil 0-1 L ** 84,177 (9th largest home crowd ever)<\/p>\n

Dec. 14, 1996 vs. Costa Rica 2-1 W * 40,527<\/p>\n

March 16, 1997 vs. Canada 3-0 W * 28,896<\/p>\n

Women<\/p>\n

July 4, 1999 vs. Brazil 2-0 W ** 73,123<\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO<\/p>\n

Candlestick Park<\/p>\n

Men<\/p>\n

Aug. 10, 1973 vs. Poland 0-4 L 30,000<\/p>\n

Oct. 16, 1977 vs. China 2-1 W 17,500<\/p>\n

Feb. 11, 1979 vs. Soviet Union 1-4 L 7,213<\/p>\n

May 27, 2014 vs. Azerbaijan 2-0 W 24,688<\/p>\n

Women<\/p>\n

Oct. 27, 2013 vs. New Zealand 4-1 W 16,315<\/p>\n

ORACLE PARK<\/p>\n

Men<\/p>\n

Feb. 10, 2006 vs. Japan 3-2 W 37,365<\/p>\n

* FIFA World Cup qualifier<\/p>\n

** FIFA World Cup<\/p>\n

^ Concacaf Gold Cup<\/p>\n

@ Copa America<\/p>\n

++ Concacaf Cup<\/p>\n

& Concacaf Nations League<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE \u2013 Today, PayPal Park for practice. Wednesday, the world \u2026 or simply World Cup survival for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380757,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[15392,184,10708,7,181,25438,23,38747,88,1084,90,89,197,198,1083,200,127,47118],"class_list":["post-380756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-2026-world-cup","tag-bay-area","tag-bay-fc","tag-california","tag-latest-headlines","tag-levis-stadium","tag-local-news","tag-other-sports","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-earthquakes","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-santa-clara","tag-santa-clara-county","tag-soccer","tag-south-bay","tag-sports","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380756\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}