If I blocked him I wouldn't have seen this gem: Inter Miami did not qualify via sporting merit to the Club World Cup, so it should be no surprise to see them look like they don't belong.They were brought in due to marketing and there are at least 3 MLS teams that would have been a much better option from a competitive…— Tactical Manager (@ManagerTactical) June 19, 2025
I mean.. Miami did win the 2024 Supporters' Shield. So while their addition over the MLS Cup winner may be arbitrary, they at least won a trophy last season.
Yes, if they had announced before the Shield was won that the Shield winner would get in nobody (essentially) would be questioning Miami being there. Its just that it appears (because its almost certainly true) that they decided they wanted Miami in and then worked back for the best justification for adding them.
Of the four Club World Cup games on Thursday, the one involving Messi had the lowest attendance. That's different.
11,727 for USA vs Saudi Arabia. The fanbase has COMPLETELY collapsed now. Next game will be AT&T stadium with Dominican Republic vs Suriname opening. Another 12k coming up but now in a giant NFL Stadium.
The Gold Cup is currently averaging 19,867. Last year ended up with 32,728. The CWC is averaging 36,433. The last time we had a large CWC was 25 years ago in Brazil. 36,714 per match was their final attendance average. Hard to compare to the smaller format CWCs, but there is almost no chance we top the average from 2006: 46,450 in Japan.
I researched when was the last time a USA vs Mexico match didn't sellout its stadium, as is likely to happen if Mexico loses to CRC and faces the USA at AT&T. I didn't have to research long. 2024 Nation's League final - 59,471 at AT&T. I would definitely not expect more than that this time either. The last 5 USA vs Mexico soccer full international matches in the United States that did not sell out were on September 11, 2018, March 24, 2019, July 11, 2021, April 19, 2023, and March 24, 2024. The last 5 times they did sell out were on June 12, 2015, June 7, 2017, November 12, 2021, February 2, 2023, and June 15, 2023. So - a USA Mexico match is just as likely to not sellout as it is to do so in the last few years.
6,730 for Auckland vs Benfica in Orlando 13,651 in Nashville for LAFC vs Esperance Tournament average currently 36,136.
Panama - Guatemala 20,408 in Austin though I am having a hard time believing the number. That would be very close to a sellout and there were a huge number of empty seats - was that from Jamaica fans who left or something? ANYWAY... we can accept that Mexico draws better than the USMNT, but Guatemela really shouldn't be. This is a fanbase in significant crisis. Current Gold Cup average is now 18,659. Now, the games in big NFL stadiums are still coming, but this editition is SIGNIFICANTLY behind the last Gold few Gold Cups now. 2023 - 32,728. 2021 - 20,541 (covid), 2019 - 33,651, 2017 - 35,027, 2015 - 41,938 per match and you have to go all the way back to 2005 before we get to a gold cup with attendance lower than 20k. Off topic - the 1993 Gold Cup final at the Azteca had an amazing attendance of 130,800. More depressing: Take a look at these attendances from 1989 (when we commonly say soccer barely existed in this country) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_CONCACAF_Championship Similar level to what we're seeing these days for this team of millionaires!
Not that depressing when you acknowledge there's a major tournament happening in the US simultaneously featuring US and a Mexican teams. The US attendances are a concern though but it's a trend that started in 2015. They've had lots of time to try and address it.
In addition to tracking the number of fans, I’d be interested in tracking the prices with an adjustment for inflation.