Thank goodness we don’t have to hear that song after every game. The US Men’s National Team has already made quite a statement in the 2026 World Cup, blowing out Paraguay in their first match and then shutting out Australia to clinch their spot in the knockout rounds. While it’s not necessarily a Cinderella run, I don’t think it’s unfair to say that nobody expected the United States to be this dominant this early on in the tournament. And after the US beat Australia last Friday, videos quickly began going viral of the entire stadium celebrating by singing the 1971 John Denver classic, “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The @USMNT faithful serenade their team with "Take Me Home, Country Roads" in Seattle pic.twitter.com/XI3Q3EkxhK — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 19, 2026 Of course, many were wondering how a song about West Virginia (yes, it’s about West Virginia and not western Virginia, but we’ll deal with that later) became the celebration song for the US Men’s National Team. And as it turns out, it actually beat out a couple of other songs – including one of the most overplayed and annoying songs in the world) to become the team’s victory anthem. According to CBS Sports, FIFA asked all 48 teams in the World Cup to select a song that could be played in the stadium after a potential win. U.S. Soccer wanted to pick a song that would be representative of American artists while also inspiring a sing-along in the stadium (they were clearly already thinking about the atmosphere and the videos that would be posted to social media), and after consulting with players and clubs the list was narrowed down to three songs: “Country Roads,” Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer,” and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” Now, I have no problem with “Livin’ On a Prayer,” but I just have to say: Thank GOD we didn’t go with “Sweet Caroline.” When it comes to overplayed songs, the Neil Diamond hit is up there with “Wagon Wheel” (and honestly it might be even more overplayed). And I get it, it’s a catchy song that’s fun to sing along to, but man…after hearing it thousands of times, it just gets annoying. Well, luckily “Sweet Caroline” was the first song that was axed, because as it turns out England chose the Neil Diamond song as their victory anthem. (Choosing a song from an American artist, once again proving our dominance). As for “Livin’ On a Prayer,” it was used as the anthem for the team’s second half hydration break, which left “Country Roads” as the celebration song for the team. And it’s one that the team and fans have fully embraced. According to USMNT defender Auston Trusty: “I think ‘Country Roads’ is a very American song. To hear that in the stadium, everyone singing along – everyone. If you’re American, you probably know that song so everyone’s singing and celebrating the win and you’re smiling and happy with the teammates. It’s a dream come true. It’s feelings that you can’t really describe. It’s just a dream come true.” Of course the song also serves as the victory anthem for the West Virginia University Mountaineers, with WVU fans belting out the song after every home win. The song is also an official state song of West Virginia, despite the fact that some pretentious a–holes love to claim that the song “is actually about western Virginia.” That’s bull—-, of course, and easily disproven by…the song’s lyrics that quite literally say “West Virginia.” The claims arise Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah River that are mentioned in “Country Roads” are largely located in the state of Virginia, though there are parts that run through the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. And then there’s the story from songwriters Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert that the song was written while driving through Maryland. Well a couple of years ago Danoff set the record straight on the song’s meaning: “I’m a songwriter. I was looking for words. The words that I loved in that song were Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River. They’re songwriter words, so that got me to West Virginia.” West Virginia…not western Virginia. Straight from the songwriter’s mouth. (If it sounds like I take this debate personally, it’s because I’m from West Virginia myself). Regardless of the song’s origins, it’s become an anthem that resonates far beyond the Mountain State. Walk into any piano bar or karaoke bar in the country and there’s a good chance that you’ll hear “Country Roads” throughout the course of the evening, and it’s also apparently a massive hit in…Japan: Everyone in Japan knows "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver. We cover it all the time so I hope our American friends can appreciate it. pic.twitter.com/ldIEfGZLBW — 鈴森はるか 『haruka suzumori』 (@harukaawake) March 29, 2026 Let’s hope that we get to hear “Take Me Home, Country Roads” many more times during this World Cup after wins from Team USA.The post John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” Beat Out One Of The Most Annoying Songs In The World To Become The World Cup Victory Song Of US Men’s National Soccer Team first appeared on Whiskey Riff.