- USMNT takes on Belgium on June 6 for the round of 16 FIFA World Cup match.
- Ahead of the game, country singer Lainey Wilson sent a special message and song to the team.
- The players and coaches have gone on record saying they’re fans of country music.
The U.S. Men’s National Team has embraced country music, and now one of the genre’s biggest stars is sending her love to the players ahead of their next match.
In case you missed it, Dan + Shay sang the National Anthem before the first match against Paraguay. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino, a native of Argentina, has gone on record saying that Luke Combs, Ella Langley, and Lainey Wilson are some of his favorite artists. Weston McKennie shared a video of the team belting out “Choosin’ Texas” on the team bus. And the whole country has embraced “Take Me Home, Country Roads” as the unofficial World Cup theme song.
Now, Lainey Wilson is chiming in with some encouraging words and two special songs ahead of the Monday night game against Belgium. The Grammy-winning country star shared a video saying, “Hey Team USA, how y’all doin’? I just wanted to wish all of y’all good luck out there. I mean, the whole country is behind y’all, and I could not be more proud of the way that you represent America and the red, white, and blue. God bless y’all, and God bless America. Go make us proud, boys! Bring it on home.”
She then strums her guitar and sings an acoustic version of “God Bless America,” followed by a few bars of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
She follows up the song with a heartfelt message: “I hope I get to meet y’all real soon. I think it is so cool to see how much a game is bringing people together.”
We know Lainey will be cheering on the team tonight as they take on Belgium!
Katie Bowlby is Digital Director at Country Living, where she covers pop culture news including country music, Yellowstone, and all things HGTV, plus gift guides and product reviews. She has been with Country Living for more than 11 years. Before that, she worked for Southern Living. The Indiana University grad also stitches up the cross-stitch pattern for every issue of the magazine.
