Cup Connections: Germany Tops South Carolina’s List of Unofficial Second Teams for the 2026 World Cup.

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup has arrived in North America, the noise in stadiums, bars, restaurants, living rooms, and fan parks may not belong to Team USA alone.

A new state-by-state analysis by Covers.com, a leading sports review site, has revealed the World Cup nations most likely to become America’s unofficial “second teams” in 2026, based on where each country’s foreign-born community is most strongly represented across the U.S.

The study analyzed foreign-born population data for World Cup nations and compared each country’s presence in every state against its national footprint. The result is a World Cup Diaspora Support Index, showing where participating nations may find the closest thing to a home crowd thousands of miles from home.

And the findings suggest the 2026 tournament could feel like dozens of mini homecomings happening at once.

South Carolina's top 5 second favorite teams, and Covers.com's analyses, are as follows:

#1. Germany leads South Carolina’s Cup Connections ranking, with 9,567 foreign-born German residents and a 2.32 over-index score. That gives Die Mannschaft a clear local foothold to go with all the usual World Cup ingredients: history, pressure, big-match tension, and the sense that Germany is never really just “taking part.” For South Carolina fans with German roots — or anyone who likes a second team with serious tournament pedigree — this could be the obvious place to start.

#2. Panama comes second in South Carolina, with 1,575 foreign-born Panamanian residents and a 1.90 over-index score. That gives the state a lively Central American World Cup thread, and one that could punch above its raw numbers. Panama has the kind of underdog energy that makes tournament support fun: passionate, proud, and capable of turning a match into a proper emotional rollercoaster. In South Carolina, that above-average local presence gives fans a real reason to lean in.

#3. Colombia ranks third, backed by 14,627 foreign-born Colombian residents and a 1.89 over-index score. In raw numbers, Colombia is the biggest community in South Carolina’s top five, which could make Los Cafeteros one of the state’s most visible adopted teams in 2026. Colombian World Cup support rarely does quiet or casual; it brings color, music, nerves, celebration, and the feeling that every attack might set off the room. South Carolina could see plenty of that energy next summer.

#4. Brazil places fourth in South Carolina, with 6,896 foreign-born Brazilian residents and a 1.37 over-index score. Brazil is always an easy second-team sell — yellow shirts, attacking flair, five World Cup titles, and the constant possibility of a ridiculous goal or a national meltdown. In South Carolina, the above-average Brazilian footprint gives the Seleção more than just global appeal; it gives them a local hook as well.

#5. France rounds out South Carolina’s top five, with 1,991 foreign-born French residents and a 1.37 over-index score. Les Bleus may be the polished powerhouse on the list, but that does not make them boring. France brings star power, tournament pedigree, and the kind of squad depth that makes every match feel loaded with expectation. For South Carolina fans with French ties — or anyone who wants a second team with flair and a genuine chance to go deep — France could be a stylish pick.

Study infographic

“The World Cup is often talked about as a national event, but in America it will also be deeply local”, says Pete Watt of Covers.com. “A bar in Miami, a community center in Providence, a restaurant in Dearborn, or a neighborhood in Queens could all feel like home turf for completely different countries. That is what makes the 2026 tournament so fascinating. It is not just one host nation story; it is hundreds of community stories happening at the same time.”

The findings also point to a wider trend in how Americans may experience the tournament. Even casual soccer fans often adopt a second team during the World Cup, whether through family roots, friendships, favorite players, travel memories, or local community ties. In 2026, with matches hosted across North America and the tournament expanded to 48 teams, those loyalties could become more visible than ever.

A separate survey by Covers.com of 1,500 respondents found that 36 percent of Americans say they are likely to support another country during the 2026 World Cup, in addition to Team USA. That means millions of fans could enter the tournament with split loyalties, inherited loyalties, borrowed loyalties, or simply a soft spot for a team other than the U.S.

The most common reason for backing a second team was not family heritage, favorite players, or even style of play. Instead, the top answer, by 23 percent, was that they “just want Team USA’s rivals to lose.” Family heritage or ancestry followed at 20 percent, while 13 percent said they would support another country because they like its players. A further 11 percent said they are drawn to a country or its culture, 10% said they usually root for underdogs, and 9 percent said they like a team’s style of play. Smaller shares said they were born in or had lived in that country, or had friends or a partner from there.

The survey also suggests that World Cup interest will not collapse if Team USA exits early. Nearly six in ten Americans (59 percent) said they would continue watching the tournament if the U.S. were knocked out, reinforcing the idea that the 2026 World Cup could become a wider national event rather than a purely Team USA-driven story.

Family roots may also play a major role in shaping fan behavior. Sixty-three percent of Americans said they would be more likely to support a country at the 2026 World Cup if they had ancestral or family ties there. Even so, the U.S. still appears to come first for most fans when loyalties are directly tested. If Team USA played their family’s heritage country, 79 percent said they would support Team USA, while 21 percent said they would back their heritage country instead.

And while Americans may be emotionally open to adopting another team, they are slightly more cautious when it comes to dressing the part. Thirty-seven percent said they would wear another country’s jersey during the 2026 World Cup, while 63 percent said they would not.

Methodology
Covers.com analyzed foreign-born population data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey, using Table B05006: Place of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in the United States. The Census Bureau defines the foreign-born population as people who were not U.S. citizens at birth, including naturalized citizens. The analysis compared each World Cup country’s share of a state’s foreign-born population with that country’s share of the U.S. foreign-born population overall.

The resulting over-index score shows where each country has a stronger-than-average community presence. A score of 1.00 represents the national average, while a score above 1.00 indicates that a country is over-represented in that state compared with the U.S. overall. Countries included in the analysis were based on the nations competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.