![\"Connor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781406669_594_.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nFolarin Balogun may have scored two goals in the United State\u2019s first World Cup game Friday night, but many fans in south St. Louis crowned a different MVP.<\/p>\n
More than a thousand fans flocked to the Amsterdam Tavern\u2019s outdoor watch party on Morgan Ford Road to watch the U.S. take on Paraguay.<\/p>\n
Picture it: Ten minutes into the game, the mood couldn\u2019t have been higher. The U.S. scores early. Beer is flowing and flying through the air.<\/p>\n
Then, an unexpected tragedy: the satellite feed cuts, the Amsterdam loses power. An error message flashes on the movie theater-sized screen and it inexplicably begins playing a \u201cRock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Heaven\u201d slideshow. The collective groan is heard blocks away. Some fans pull out their phones to stream the game and friends crowd around. The U.S. scores a second goal.<\/p>\n
Enter the heroes of this story: a few guys in an apartment high above the soccer bar\u2019s watch party. The friends carry a large flatscreen TV up onto the railing of their second-story balcony so the crowd below can watch. Fans erupt with cheers of “M-V-P! M-V-P!” then, “U-S-A! U-S-A!”<\/p>\n
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
Connor McDonald, left, and Cole Kline hold up a television outside their friend Matt Waller\u2019s apartment (not pictured) after an outdoor World Cup watch party\u2019s stream cut due to a power issue on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re men of the people,\u201d amateur TV hoister Cole Kline said of himself and his buddy Connor McDonald when interviewed at halftime. \u201cWe saw that everyone was in trouble, and, you know, we wanted to come save the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The owner of the large television, Matt Waller, was down below on the street when he saw his buddies pick up his TV. He said he was nervous, but \u201cthen I was like, you know what, I trust them. It’ll be okay, and the people are loving it.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s just the collective, communal spirit of the World Cup, Waller said. \u201cWe’re all cheering for the same thing,\u201d he said. \u201cI know some people may not be that interested or big into soccer, but they want to cheer on their country and root together as one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind the Amsterdam, a technician for Ameren was working to restore power to the bar and the feed outside.<\/p>\n
It went live shortly before the end of the first half, when U.S. striker Balogun notched his second goal of the match. Bliss.<\/p>\n
The U.S. would go on to rout Paraguay in a final score of 4-1. America\u2019s next game is at 2 p.m. Friday against Australia.<\/p>\n
Waller said he again plans on watching the game with friends, and may even go to the Amsterdam Tavern across the street \u2014 \u201cif the power\u2019s on.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
United States soccer fans gather to watch the team rout Paraguay, 4-1, during a FIFA World Cup watch party on Friday outside Amsterdam Tavern in south St. Louis.<\/p>\n
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
A United States fan puts his hand over his heart during the National Anthem before the U.S. Men\u2019s National Team takes on Paraguay during the FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
United States fans sit in disbelief as a stream of the U.S. vs. Paraguay cuts out due to a power issue during a FIFA World Cup watch party outside Amsterdam Tavern in south St. Louis.<\/p>\n
![\"United](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781406672_648_.jpeg\"\/)
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
United States Men\u2019s National Team fans get rowdy after scoring their first goal against Paraguay during a FIFA World Cup watch party outside of Amsterdam Tavern on Friday.<\/p>\n
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
A United States fan watches the team take on Paraguay during the FIFA World Cup on Friday in south St. Louis. The fan tilted the television toward the window after the stream cut out at an outdoor watch party.<\/p>\n
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
United States fans watch the USMNT take on Paraguay on their phones during a FIFA World Cup watch party outside of Amsterdam Tavern on Friday in south St. Louis. Moments prior, the outdoor watch party\u2019s stream was cut due to a power issue.<\/p>\n
![\"United](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781406674_549_.jpeg\"\/)
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
United States fans watch the USMNT take on Paraguay on their phones during a FIFA World Cup watch party outside of Amsterdam Tavern on Friday. Moments prior, the outdoor watch party\u2019s stream cut out due to a power issue.<\/p>\n
![\"United](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781406674_470_.jpeg\"\/)
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
United States fans chant \u201cM-V-P\u201d while St. Louisans hold a television toward the crowd from an apartment balcony after the outdoor FIFA World Cup watch party\u2019s stream is cut due to a power issue on Friday.<\/p>\n
![\"American](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781406675_553_.jpeg\"\/)
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
American Outlaws St. Louis Chapter president Kevin Marshall, second from left, takes a selfie alongside club members and St. Louisans who set their TV up for hundreds to watch after a power outage cut the USMNT vs. Paraguay stream outside Amsterdam Tavern on Friday.<\/p>\n
![\"United](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781406676_84_.jpeg\"\/)
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
United States fans celebrate a goal as the team routs Paraguay, 4-1, during the FIFA World Cup on Friday, June 12, 2026, outside of Amsterdam Tavern in south St. Louis.<\/p>\n
![\"Hundreds](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781406676_367_.jpeg\"\/)
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
Hundreds of United States fans celebrate as the team routs Paraguay, 4-1, during a FIFA World Cup watch party outside of Amsterdam Tavern on Friday.<\/p>\n
![\"United](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781406677_0_.jpeg\"\/)
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
United States fans hold eachother as the team routs Paraguay, 4-1, during a FIFA World Cup watch party.<\/p>\n
![\"United](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781406678_309_.jpeg\"\/)
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
United States fans celebrate as the team routs Paraguay, 4-1, during a FIFA World Cup watch party outside of Amsterdam Tavern on Friday.<\/p>\n
![\"United](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781406678_900_.jpeg\"\/)
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Brian Munoz<\/p>\n
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St. Louis Public Radio<\/p>\n
United States fans celebrate as the team sinks a last-minute goal, routing Paraguay, 4-1, during a FIFA World Cup watch party outside of Amsterdam Tavern on Friday in south St. Louis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Folarin Balogun may have scored two goals in the United State\u2019s first World Cup game Friday night, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":702826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-702825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}