Scottish fans were adopted quickly in Boston so much so that the US city’s mayor signed a letter of intent last month to establish a sister city partnership with Glasgow.
In Texas, I joined the Oranje March, as a sea of Netherlands fans which included many locals, sung and danced their way to the AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Across the border in Guadalajara, I witnessed the special bond between Mexico and South Korea fans, even ahead of a big match where the two nations were set to face off.
There’s no sugarcoating that this tournament had its fair share of ugliness on and off the pitch, and that changes will be needed. For instance, the newly introduced hydration breaks that FIFA has acknowledged to be unpopular and up for a post-tournament review. Also, and I cannot emphasise this enough, that sports and politics must be kept apart.
But for a marvellous month, we spoke the language of football. And that more than anything is what I will remember this tournament for.
Matthew Mohan is a correspondent at CNA. He specialises in sports reporting and has covered the Olympics, World Cup, Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games.