How did England’s Sweet Caroline claim shape the final anthem pick?

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England’s Sweet Caroline claim led to John Denver’s Country Roads being chosen as the US team’s closing anthem
England’s claim to Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline was the deciding factor that ruled it out for the United States’ World Cup anthem selection, prompting World Cup 2026 executive Amy Hopfinger to choose John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads instead. The US Soccer team had already submitted a postgame playlist to FIFA that included Sweet Caroline, Livin’ on a Prayer, and Country Roads, and the final closing song for the June 19 US 2-0 win over Australia became Country Roads after England’s earlier claim.
The US Soccer playlist included both Sweet Caroline and Country Roads
US Soccer submitted a postgame playlist to FIFA that featured Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer and Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, alongside the John Denver song that later became the stadium sing-along. The stated aim was to pick songs that were representative of American artists and would work well as crowd sing-alongs.
England’s earlier claim triggered the switch away from Sweet Caroline
With England claiming Sweet Caroline first, the US World Cup 2026 executive Amy Hopfinger selected the John Denver song to close out the June 19 match against Australia. In other words, the earlier England claim directly shaped the final anthem pick by making Sweet Caroline the unavailable option for the US closing moment.
Country Roads closed the June 19 win over Australia and sparked sing-alongs
When Country Roads played at the June 19 US 2-0 win over Australia, a sellout crowd of 66,925 began singing and quickly drowned out the loudspeakers. The same pattern followed on July 1 after the victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which sent the Americans into the round of 16 and was watched by a record 33.5 million US viewers.

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How did England’s Sweet Caroline claim shape the final anthem pick?

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