{"id":2616938,"date":"2026-06-21T13:10:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T17:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/entire-us-soccer-team-huddles-in-prayer-after-historic-world-cup-win\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T13:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T17:12:10","slug":"entire-us-soccer-team-huddles-in-prayer-after-historic-world-cup-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/entire-us-soccer-team-huddles-in-prayer-after-historic-world-cup-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Entire US Soccer Team Huddles in Prayer After Historic World Cup Win"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fentire-us-soccer-team-huddles-in-prayer-after-historic-world-cup-win%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2616938&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/time-magazine-takes-chinese-cash-to-promote-controversial-drone-business\/\" title=\"Time Magazine Takes Chinese Cash To Promote Controversial Drone Business\">article highlights<\/a> how the U.S. men&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-womens-soccer-team-kneels-for-anthem-wears-black-lives-matter\/\" title=\"US Wo...s Soccer Team Kneels for Anthem, Wears &#039;Black Lives Matter&#039;\">soccer team<\/a> is publicly expressing their faith during the 2026 World Cup. After a significant 2-0 victory over Australia,the team gathered in prayer,led by Christian player Mark McKenzie,attracting worldwide attention. McKenzie emphasized that their purpose is to glorify God rather than seek fame or fortune. the team&#8217;s faith-based actions, including prayers and public displays of belief, are seen as inspiring and a reflection of their trust in a higher power. This display contrasts with the more secular approach of the women&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sullivan-u-s-has-deep-concerns-over-who-findings-of-covid-19-origins-in-china-without-sufficient-data\/\" title=\"Sullivan: U.S. has \u2018deep concerns\u2019 over WHO findings of COVID-19 origins in China without sufficient data\">national team<\/a> and is viewed by some as a positive example for the country, especially with the USA co-hosting the tournament. The team\u2019s confidence and faith-driven conduct are considered both a source of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/matt-gaetz-requests-pledge-of-allegiance-before-hearings-nadler-shoots-him-down\/\" title=\"Matt Gaetz Requests Pledge Of Allegiance Before Hearings; Nadler Shoots Him Down\">national pride<\/a> and a way to present a strong,authentic image to the global audience.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The United States men\u2019s soccer team is using the World Cup to demonstrate their faith to the world.<\/p>\n<p>After a crucial 2-0 win over Australia on Friday, the team gathered in the center of Lumen Field in Seattle for what was evidently a huddle of prayer \u2014 led by one of its most outspoken believers.<\/p>\n<p>And the whole world was watching.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">They\u2019ve made their country proud<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/USMNT?\">@USMNT<\/a> huddle after defeating Australia 2-0 to make the knockout round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/okIKFDuowU\">pic.twitter.com\/okIKFDuowU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 FOX Sports (@FOXSports) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FOXSports\/status\/2068078717801267571?\">June 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>At the center of the circle was Mark McKenzie, a defender and very public espouser of the Christian faith, on a team that already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/us-world-cup-players-lean-christ-career-defining-tournament-jesus-everything\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has no shortage<\/a> of the faithful.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Mark Mckenzie lead the USA team in prayer after playing Australia. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4JTvbMteTX\">pic.twitter.com\/4JTvbMteTX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ballers In God (@BallersinGod) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BallersinGod\/status\/2068094496714236137?\">June 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on his own career recently in a YouTube interview with the faith and sport site Sports Spectrum, the 27-year-old McKenzie made his perspective clear.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not doing this for the money,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not doing this for anything besides glorifying God, right? You are a vessel for Him.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-embed\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mark McKenzie - USMNT soccer player on the 2026 World Cup and sharing his Jesus story\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bzYFvbtnmOo?start=1204&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Friday\u2019s win for the team \u2014 coming a week after a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/soccer\/match\/_\/gameId\/760417\/paraguay-united-states\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">4-1 victory<\/a> over Paraguay \u2014 was a historic accomplishment. As the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/06\/19\/sports\/usa-makes-world-cup-history-not-seen-since-1930\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a> reported, the American national team had not won two consecutive matches since the tournament started in 1930.<\/p>\n<p>As ESPN\u2019s Sam Borden <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/soccer\/story\/_\/id\/49121797\/ok-dream-big-usmnt-world-cup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">noted<\/a> \u2014 if a little skeptically \u2014 the win also opened the slightest window of hope that the U.S. men\u2019s team could actually win the whole thing.<\/p>\n<p>But these players might be doing something more important.<\/p>\n<p>On \u201cFox &#038; Friends Weekend\u201d on Saturday, Jesse Bradley, a former <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >professional soccer player turned pastor<\/a>, praised the players\u2019 prayer as \u201cinspiring our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">FOX FIFA WORLD CUP: <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JesseJBradley?\">@JesseJBradley<\/a> celebrates after the USMNT wins over Australia! Bradley, who was doing ministry outside the stadium, spoke about the importance of faith to the team as players gathered in prayer following the victory. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/SQasQ4wuxm\">pic.twitter.com\/SQasQ4wuxm<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 FOX &#038; Friends (@foxandfriends) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/foxandfriends\/status\/2068294560954941747?\">June 20, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you see the team pray together, you see their heart,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>For most Americans, soccer news in the past decade has been dominated by the women\u2019s national team and its excruciatingly annoying leader <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/peak-irony-riley-gaines-fires-back-megan-rapinoes-attack-save-womens-sports-movement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Megan Rapinoe<\/a> \u2014 an embarrassing squad of ingrates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/us-womens-soccer-team-makes-major-black-lives-matter-move-kneeling-anthem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">far more likely<\/a> to kneel during the national anthem than to kneel in prayer after a match.<\/p>\n<p>But at this year\u2019s World Cup, they\u2019re seeing a men\u2019s soccer team that isn\u2019t shy about its confidence in itself \u2014 but more importantly, isn\u2019t ashamed of demonstrating its faith in a God greater than itself.<\/p>\n<p>That might be especially important in a year when the U.S. is playing co-host to the international tournament, but regardless of where the games are taking place, there are few better ways to make the whole country look good \u2014 with the whole world watching.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Following a vital 2-0 victory against Australia on Friday, they assembled at midfield in Lumen Field, Seattle, for a prayer circle led by one of their most vocal believers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2616939,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ben-net-80.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[9511,11817,7478,4000,81499],"class_list":["post-2616938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-historic","tag-prayer","tag-soccer","tag-team","tag-worldcup"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ben-net-80.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2616938"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2616942,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616938\/revisions\/2616942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2616939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2616938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2616938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2616938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}