Jason Kelce has been a dedicated Team USA men’s soccer team supporter during their run in the 2026 FIFA World Cup — and wants American fans to get with the program.
“I hear a lot of the other chants from U.K. teams,” Kelce, 38, said on the Tuesday, June 30, episode of Landon Donovan and Tim Howard’s “Unfiltered Soccer” podcast, denouncing the notorious “I believe that we will win!” rallying cry among Team USA fans.
“I know you played over there, Tim,” the former Philadelphia Eagles center continued. “I know that there’s a lot of energy and passion in those chants. And not just that. Aggression. They’re going to be in your face with those chants.”
He added, “‘I believe that we will win,’ that’s a little… we need to step this up a bit.”
Kelce explained he dislikes the chant because of what it “symbolizes.”
“The chant is trying to convince yourself that you can win,” he argued. “Brazil doesn’t need to convince themselves. They just always think that they can win.”
Donovan, 44, who represented Team USA from 2000 to 2014, agreed with Kelce’s assessment of the notorious chant.
“They’re so creative,” Donovan said of other soccer fans around the world. “Obviously we have creative people in this country. We just need to get together and figure it out. We agree, it’s got to be better. We agree.”
Kelce, who played for the Eagles from 2011 to 2023, further explained that his disdain for American sports fans and their chants is limited to soccer supporters.
“I would have loved for Eagles fans or NFL fans to adopt some of the chanting that happens [in soccer.],” he said. “The Eagles, we have, ‘Fly eagles fly, on the road to victory.’ It’s very nice. I’m like, ‘No, this doesn’t feel like it fits American football, either.’ We need to be, like, punch you in the mouth kind of attitude, as well.”
Kelce added, “We need some drunken nights at a pub with a bunch of dudes just trying to figure out how we can talk s*** to the opposing team.”
Complaints about the chants aside, Kelce gushed about the Team USA fever that has swept the nation since the start of the World Cup.
“I think everyone across the country right now is fired up,” he said. “I know we lost to [Türkiye] resting, what, nine players or however many changes there were. But I think the energy for the United States right now is high.”
Team USA plays Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, July 1, at 8 p.m. ET.
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