📣 The Supporters
When the crowd became the story. The Maracanã's 200,000, the Tartan Army, the Mexican wave's World Cup birth, Iceland's Thunderclap, Senegal and Japan cleaning the stands, football's twelfth man.
Part of World Cup
15 moments in this segment.
- - The Mexican Wave conquers the world. Although it had appeared earlier, it was the 1986 World Cup in Mexico that broadcast the rolling stadium "wave" to a global audience, which is why the world still calls it the Mexican Wave.
- - Senegal's supporters take over. Backing the 2002 debutants who beat France, Senegal's drumming, dancing supporters became one of the joys of the tournament, the sound and colour of an African team reaching the quarter-finals.
- - The Dutch Orange Army. Wherever the Netherlands play, their fans turn stadiums and streets a sea of orange, the "Oranje" support among the most colourful and recognisable in World Cup history.
- - The Maracanã's 200,000. The 1950 deciding match drew a crowd officially recorded near 174,000 and likely closer to 200,000, still the largest attendance in football history. The silence after Uruguay's winner is as famous as the number.
- - Colombia's yellow wave in 2014. Colombia's return to the World Cup in 2014 brought a joyous, dancing yellow-shirted support that lit up Brazil, mirroring the dancing celebrations of James RodrÃguez's breakout side.
- - Mexico 1986 - the sombrero crowds. The 1986 World Cup in Mexico is remembered for sun-drenched, sombrero-wearing crowds whose colour and noise, and the global spread of the wave, made it one of the most atmospheric tournaments ever staged.
- - Brazil's samba drums and yellow shirts. The sound of samba drums and a sea of yellow shirts has followed Brazil through every World Cup, the carnival support that is as much a part of the tournament's identity as the football itself.
- - Iceland's Viking Thunderclap. Tiny Iceland, the smallest nation ever to qualify, brought the slow-building "Huh!" Thunderclap to the 2018 World Cup, tens of thousands of fans clapping in unison, a chant copied around the football world.
- - Japanese fans clean the stands. Japanese supporters stayed behind to pick up litter from the stands at the 2018 World Cup, and the Japanese team left their dressing room spotless with a thank-you note. The moment went viral as a lesson in sportsmanship.
- - Morocco's fans roar them to the semis. Backed by deafening support from Moroccan and Arab fans across Qatar 2022, the Atlas Lions became the first African and Arab semi-finalists, players celebrating with their mothers on the pitch.
- - Argentina's travelling sea of blue and white. Tens of thousands of Argentine fans turned Qatar 2022 into a home tournament, their chant "Muchachos" becoming the anthem of the World Cup as Messi's side marched to the title.
- - Fans clash with police before Brazil-Argentina. Violence broke out in the stands at the Maracanã during the national anthems before a 2023 World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina, and police moved in with batons. NBC News footage of a qualifier that made news for the crowd rather than the game.
- - The Tartan Army travels the world. Scotland's travelling supporters, the Tartan Army, became famous for their kilts, songs and good humour at World Cups from Argentina 1978 onward, beloved wherever they went, even as their team kept falling at the group stage.
- - How the host cities welcomed the world. A PBS NewsHour report from the opening week of the 2026 tournament on how American host cities received visiting fans. The off-field story of a World Cup spread across three countries.
- - Nine million through the Fan Festival. FIFA's wrap of the 2026 Fan Festivals, which it says drew more than nine million visitors across the 39 days of the tournament. The free big-screen sites became the tournament's public square.
