A packed crowd of Chicago soccer fans thousands of miles away wasn't enough to will the U.S. men's soccer team to victory on Tuesday.
The team lost 2-1 to Belgium in overtime, exiting the tournament in the World Cup's round of 16.
U.S.A. Soccer Federation officials say 28,000 fans packed Soldier Field to watch the game.
Fans — many with red, white and blue face paint or draped in American flags — filed into the stadium to watch the 3 p.m. match on its huge screen. Some got to watch from covered sections of the field, where the NFL's Chicago Bears play that other brand of football in colder months. They stood to observe the national anthem and roared when it was finished. Chants of "I believe we will win" broke out repeatedly throughout the 90-minute game.
The watch party was moved to the bigger location after crowds of 20,000 packed Grant Park for earlier games.
Fans actually started leaving the stadium after Belgium went up 2-0, but they risked missing a miraculous comeback, when Julian Green, at 19 the youngest player on the U.S. roster, scored their only goal with minutes left in the game.
"We poured our hearts out, they did a great job, we're really proud of them and we'll be back next time," a disappointed fan said while leaving the stadium.
