<\/p>\n
Stuart Holden looks on prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Australia at Seattle Stadium on June 19, 2026 in Seattle.<\/p>\n
Chris Brunskill\/Fantasista\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Soccer announcer Stu Holden during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Inglewood, California.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seth Greenberg\/ISI Photos\/ISI Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Bolton Wanderers’ US midfielder Stuart Holden vies with Aston Villa’s English defender Luke Young during the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers at Villa Park, Birmingham, West Midlands, England, on September 18, 2010.<\/p>\n
GLYN KIRK\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Rodney Wallace of Costa Rica and Stuart Holden of the United States both slide tackle at the ball in the first half during the CONCACAF Gold Cup match at Rentschler Field on July 16, 2013 in East Hartford, Connecticut.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jared Wickerham\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Stuart Holden of USA scores the game-tying goal and celebrates with teammates Davy Arnaud and Brad Evans against Haiti during the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup competition at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The game ended in a 2-2 tie.<\/p>\n
Jim Rogash\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Houston Dynamo’s Stuart Holden, left, celebrates after scoring his second goal as Atlante FC’s Gerardo Espinoza (6) walks back to midfield during the first half of a SuperLiga soccer match Saturday, July 12, 2008, in Houston. (AP Photo\/David J. Phillip)<\/p>\n
David J. Phillip\/AP<\/p>\n
Stu Holden<\/a> was 10 when his parents, Moira and Brian, pulled out a map and changed his life.<\/p>\n \u201cThey said, \u2018We’re gonna go to Disney World in Orlando,\u2019\u201d Holden said. \u201cMy brother and sister and I were like this is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n But they weren\u2019t done.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThen they’re like, \u2018And then we’re gonna go to Texas and look at houses because we’re moving,\u2019\u201d Holden continued.<\/p>\n That revelation brought tears but it set Holden on his path in the world of soccer.<\/p>\n THE GLOBAL GAME:\u00a0The professional soccer player who became an astronaut<\/a><\/p>\n He started as a youth player on the grass fields around Houston before playing for the Dynamo and representing the U.S. men\u2019s national team at the 2010 World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n After injuries prematurely ended his career, Holden dove into the world of broadcasting and became the top color commentator for Fox Sports. Now Holden, 40, will be calling his third World Cup final<\/a> for Fox this Sunday when Spain takes on Argentina.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI’m so proud of my Scottish heritage, but I consider myself Texan,\u201d Holden said. \u201cHouston is my home. It was the most formative part of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n A quick introduction to soccer in Texas<\/p>\n Holden got involved in the local soccer scene almost immediately after arriving in Texas. He says about two days after the family landed to look at houses, he traveled to play with a local soccer team in a tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cScottish kid gets off the plane, he must be good at soccer,\u201d Holden said. \u201cThat was still the soccer culture in America.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The tournament was in Beaumont, and it marked a totally new experience for Holden. It was insanely hot. The grass was high. Fire ant mole hills were all over the field. Then thunderstorms rolled in, play stopped and the team went to McDonald\u2019s.<\/p>\n Holden assumed the game was canceled. But his teammates told him they\u2019ll get back out there once the storms pass.<\/p>\n Sure enough, the sky cleared and the team returned to the field.<\/p>\n \u201cNow you’ve got the Texas humidity, the heat is back at like 100 degrees and this pasty, white Scottish kid is running around on this field, beet red face,\u201d Holden said. \u201cWe won the tournament, they asked me to join the team and that was kind of the beginning of my soccer journey.\u201d<\/p>\n Holden, who said he retained his Scottish accent for one year before it wore off, embraced his new home. He played basketball and football in addition to soccer, said y\u2019all and wore cowboy boots.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But it’s the soccer memories that stick out when he thinks back on his Texas childhood, whether it was playing in front of thousands of fans at the Compaq Center before a Houston Hotshots indoor soccer game or going up against Arturo \u00c1lvarez, another future pro, at Bear Creek Pioneers Park in west Houston.<\/p>\n RIDING TO THE STADIUM: He’s biked over 16,000 miles worldwide. We joined him on his ride to a Houston World Cup match.<\/a><\/p>\n Samuel Waugh, the longtime Head of Upper School at the Awty International School, remembers Holden and his father coming in for an interview during the school\u2019s admissions process. Holden, then in eighth grade, told Waugh that he wanted to be a professional soccer player.<\/p>\n \u201cI took one look at this kid and I thought to myself, it’s awesome that people have ambitions,\u201d said Waugh, who was also the boys soccer coach at the time. \u201cBut that little guy being a professional soccer player, I guess miracles can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n What Waugh didn\u2019t know at the time was the relentlessness with which Holden would tackle his dream. Waugh said has seen \u201cliterally over 10,000 kids in my 49 years\u201d and almost none of them had his steadfast dedication to achieving his ambitions.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Lee Baker, one of Holden\u2019s soccer coaches growing up, uses Holden as an example for players he coaches now. Holden wasn\u2019t the best player in his youth, Baker said, but he had a good soccer brain, great technique and was driven.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s an unquantifiable characteristic and value that I think is very hard to train that has to come from within,\u201d Holden said. \u201cI think that within is something that is shaped and challenged by your experiences, and for me that came on the fields playing in Houston growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n From the Dynamo to U.S. team to the Premier League<\/p>\n Holden left Houston to go off to college in 2003 and play at Clemson. He played there for two seasons and then went to Sunderland in England. But Holden never stepped on the field. A fractured eye socket and then an ankle injury kept him out of game action before he got released.<\/p>\n He went back to Houston, where he was trying to figure out his next move when he got a call from his agent.<\/p>\n The Dynamo were moving to Houston and his agent knew head coach Dominic Kinnear. Kinnear knew about Holden and wanted him to come out and practice with the team.<\/p>\n \u201cI quickly found out, within like a week, this was pretty awesome,\u201d Holden said. \u201cI love the team. I love the coach. I loved the whole environment. It just felt right, and I signed a contract for $30,000 a year.\u201d<\/p>\n VOICE OF HOUSTON:\u00a0Glenn Davis is the Houston soccer voice heard around the globe in World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n Holden stayed with the Dynamo for four seasons. He started in 2006 as a 20-year-old role player off the bench, helping the team win two straight MLS Cups.<\/p>\n By the end of his fourth year, Holden had emerged as a star. He debuted with the U.S. men\u2019s national team<\/a> at the 2009 Gold Cup and earned a spot on the season\u2019s Best XI.<\/p>\n Holden then got a chance in England with Bolton Wanderers to go for his Premier League dream once again.<\/p>\n \u201cWe tried desperately, and Stu will tell you this, to keep him,\u201d said Chris Canetti, president of the Dynamo at the time and the current president of Houston\u2019s World Cup host committee. \u201cBut obviously he had the opportunity to go to the English Premier League, and it’s hard to hold someone back from that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Holden felt a sense of pride and connection in representing the Dynamo. He also learned a lot of valuable lessons as a young player joining a team with championship aspirations.<\/p>\n As a rookie, Holden walked into the locker room with a lot of confidence. But he realized quickly his teammates didn\u2019t care about where he was from or where he played before joining the Dynamo. Holden had to prove that he belonged and he embraced the challenge.<\/p>\n The competitiveness and professionalism in the locker room rubbed off on Holden. He said it was key to him developing his work ethic and shaped him into the person he is today.<\/p>\n PREPARE FOR THE FINAL: How Argentina beat England to reach World Cup final: ‘team spirit, brotherhood, never giving up’<\/a><\/p>\n Holden\u2019s four seasons in Houston also allowed him to spend time with his father, who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer his senior year of high school.<\/p>\n Brian watched his son score his first professional goal, celebrating by running down the halls of the stadium. He got to see his son become a champion. Holden even said his father became \u201cthe team dad\u201d in a way.<\/p>\n