“‘I CAME FOR THE MATCH… BUT THIS IS WHAT I’LL REMEMBER.’” More Than 70,000 Fans Packed The Stadium For Team USA’s Opening World Cup Clash, Yet Before A Single Ball Was Kicked, An Unexpected National Anthem Performance Had Viewers Across Social Media Sharing The Same Reaction. As The Crowd Sang Along And The Atmosphere Reached Another Level, many fans began calling it one of the most unforgettable World Cup opening moments in years — and the video is still drawing millions of views.

The country duo performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of the USMNT win over Paraguay.

The FIFA World Cup officially kicked off this week, and the U.S. men’s national team made a serious statement with an incredible 4–1 win over Paraguay. Before the teams took the field at SoFi Stadium, country duo Dan + Shay delivered a powerful rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Country Living managing editor Amy Mitchell was in attendance with her family to cheer on her nephew, Chris Richards, who completed all 83 of his passes during the win, setting a record for a the most passes by a player with 100% accuracy in a FIFA World Cup match since 1966,

Packed stadium with FIFA display and American flag during a football event

Amy Mitchell

It’s been more than 30 years since the World Cup took place on U.S. soil, and Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney helped kick off the memorable event in front of a crowd of 70,000+.

Alex Livesey – FIFA//Getty Images

Dan + Shay shared a video from their performance on Instagram and were met with a flood of comments from fans.

“Perfect vocals!! I sent this to my mom and she said ‘they could probably sing the dictionary and it would sound fabulous!’ ” one fan wrote. Another declared it the “Best Star Spangled Banner ever” and one commenter wrote, “This is in my top five. They did an amazing job singing our country’s song ” Michael Bublé chimed in with “Beautiful ” and country singer Ernest left heart and flag emojis.

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Up next, the USMNT heads to Seattle, where they will face Australia on June 19.

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