2026 World Cup: How Mexico’s run brought joy after a year of fear

For many of its fans, Mexico’s role as one of three World Cup host nations combined with the team’s run to the playoffs has created something bigger than soccer.

Supporters who had been concerned about immigration enforcement months earlier were now singing Mexican national anthems, waving Mexican flags and wearing Eltri shirts, packed with families in fan zones. For many, identifying as Mexican has never been at odds with being American.

Mr. Arellano said Mexican soccer fans were seen as “unpatriotic” for displaying the Mexican flag, especially during the anti-immigration politics of the 1990s.

“As America has become more diverse, the expression of these supporters has become greater,” he says.

Like millions of other fans, he was hoping Mexico could pull off one more upset.

“The geek in me says that’s what always happens to Mexico. We’re good, but we can’t really compete with the world’s elite,” he said.

“But you know what? We didn’t give up. So I’m proud of what they did. We didn’t give up until the end. England were the dominant team.”

As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary amid renewed debates over immigration and national identity, diaspora communities not only in Mexico, but also in countries including Scotland, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Morocco and Egypt, show an America where millions have deep cultural ties to more than one home.

For many Mexican-Americans, it became a celebration of the two homes they proudly call their own.

In what Gustavo Arellano described as “a very difficult season” for Latino communities, this World Cup gave them something they had lost.

“It was an opportunity to express happiness,” he says.