By admin 
CHARLOTTE – Whether it was the pre-match fire show, the group of drummers decked out in LED lights, Ciara performing “Goodies” at halftime or the two goals Son Heung-min scored in the span of three minutes, Major League Soccer delivered on its promise of a good time.
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The league hosted the 2026 MLS All-Star Game at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday night, which finished as a 4–3 win for the MLS side over the Liga MX All-Stars. The clash of North America’s best came just 10 days after the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
MLS is determined to capitalize on the heightened excitement around the sport in its continent, especially given the restart of the league’s regular season even prior to the tournament’s end. MLS instigated its largest-ever post-World Cup marketing campaign called “Thanks World, We’ll Take It From Here” and pulled out all the stops in Wednesday’s showpiece event to prove just how much it means it.
The All-Star Game featured a pre-match team walkout quite similar to the style employed during the World Cup-seeing two giant flags splayed across the pitch, one for MLS and one for Liga MX, opposite of each other while the players lined up for their national anthems. The setup was backdropped by six separate fire displays and followed by a performance from over a dozen lit-up drummers from the center circle.
The goal-frenzied game did not disappoint either. Even after the Liga MX side went down by two goals on two separate occasions, its All-Stars continued to apply pressure on the MLS men to pull back within one both times, even outshooting them 16 to eight by the final whistle. The Liga MX XI almost tied the match in stoppage time with two legitimate chances inside the box, making for a dramatic affair and requiring the heroics of Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crepéau.
“It was such a good spectacle, and what we have to do is make sure we keep supporters enjoying the game of football,” Charlotte FC manager Dean Smith, who coached the MLS All-Stars, said postmatch. “It’s shorter than some of the other games that we play in America, and if we can help them understand what it is and the shortness of it, then it can only grow in the country.”
Perhaps what captured the attentions of the fans most, though, was Ciara’s halftime performance. The Grammy award-winning singer and part-owner of the Seattle Sounders performed all of her top hits, including “2 Step” and “Level Up,” from a stage built into the lower bowl.
Increased Attendance From a Worldly Crowd
There was a capacity-crowd of 35,197 on Wednesday night, the largest attendance for the All-Star Game since 2018. At last year’s match, there was a capacity-crowd of 20,738, and in 2024, a capacity-crowd of 20,931.
Increased attendance has been a phenomenon experienced across MLS since its return from the World Cup break. Ticket sales are up 62% across the league when comparing the 40 days pre-World Cup to the 40 days during and after World Cup, according to MLS. Some teams have even experienced an increase in ticket sales of more than 150% since the beginning of the World Cup.
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MLS players that competed in the World Cup have even felt the “bump” themselves.
“Every stadium is full everywhere we go, so there is growth of the game outside of the football pitch as well,” Canada’s starting goalkeeper Crépeau tells Sports Illustrated at All-Star week. “There’s a lot of ticket sales. The stadiums are full. There’s a lot of traffic around the teams on the social, and social is now a big part of the reality in 2026. Everything is trending in the right way.”
USMNT and Columbus Crew star winger, Max Arfsten, adds: “The fandom, it’s at a point it’s never been before in North America. The game is growing so much. I’ve even seen it myself. I think we’re going to talk about before the World Cup and after the World Cup, how the game is perceived and the difference in the fandom of the sport.
“I can feel the energy. When I walk around, I just see people love the game more. They want to come watch the games, recognize the players more. I think it’s amazing. I think it’s exactly what this country needed to further propel the beautiful game.
“Obviously everyone watched the World Cup, so they want more soccer in their lives. They want to follow the game even more and pick their favorite teams, so I think it’s gathering more fans. I’ve definitely seen it in the couple of games I’ve already played with the Crew.”
There weren’t just Charlotte FC fans at Bank of America Stadium on Wednesday night. There were fans from every club, including those from Nashville SC, who whistled “Andy” repeatedly to grab the attention of star fullback Andy Najar during warmups, and those from Real Salt Lake, eager to support burgeoning 19-year-old star Zavier Gozo.
There were also supporters repping different national team jerseys, perhaps not only an effect of the recent World Cup fandom, but also the increasing diversity of the league. Several supporters of Son Heung-min donned South Korea jerseys and waved the nation’s flag, while others wore the colors of Germany in support of Thomas Müller. Many repped the USMNT’s classic red-and-white striped home jersey, which both Tim Ream, Matt Freese and Arfsten of the MLS All-Stars sported this summer.
MLS hopes to further extend its reach, diving right back into regular season action on Friday.
READ THE LATEST MLS NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FC
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This story was originally published July 30, 2026 at 1:45 AM.