Union captain Alejandro Bedoya is in soccer heaven this month. He has the Club World Cup to thank.

The former U.S. men’s national team midfielder has recently doubled down as an ambassador for the sport ahead of next year's FIFA World Cup.

Connor Lynch, 10, looks over his shoulder as Union captain Alejandro Bedoya signs his jersey during a free soccer clinic hosted by Philadelphia Soccer 2026 on June 11.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

by Kerith Gabriel

Published June 25, 2025, 8:00 a.m. ET

For Alejandro Bedoya, June has been quite the month, from a purely soccer, love-of-the-game standpoint.

Ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup, the longtime Union captain and former U.S. men’s national team midfielder has doubled down as an ambassador for a sport that he’s plied into a pretty notable career since 2009.

On the club side, Bedoya has guided the Union to Major League Soccer’s best record behind a first-year manager and a crop of young talent. But his work off the field at Subaru Park is equally, if not more, notable.

Earlier this month, U.S. Soccer announced that alongside former women’s national team star Meghan Klingenberg, Bedoya will host U.S. Soccer’s official podcast, with episodes airing weekly at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays.

It’s unknown just how deep Bedoya can get on a podcast produced by the federation. Still, it will feature former men’s and women’s national team players diving into various topics with all eyes on how the men’s team will fare ahead of next year’s World Cup games in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Recently, Bedoya offered his thoughts on FIFA’s ongoing Club World Cup, which caps its group stage this week with a match at Lincoln Financial Field featuring Real Madrid, arguably the world’s most popular club team, in town to take on Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg on Thursday (9 p.m., DAZN).

On Tuesday, Philly also was the first venue to have the teams for its lone knockout game in the tournament announced; Brazil’s Botafogo will face Palmeiras on Saturday (noon, DAZN).

“I’m really looking forward to seeing two Brazilian teams go toe-to-toe, one of them being the Copa Libertadores champion [in] Botafogo,” said Bedoya, 38, who is American-born but has Colombian roots.

“Palmeiras is a big club with a storied tradition and history, who are greatly supported here in the States. There’s a huge Brazilian population in and around all the big metro cities. This one will be no different.”

That game is expected to be a continuation of a wild run of matches in Philadelphia, specifically thanks to supporters from non-European-based clubs bringing fans, who have set the Linc ablaze with flares, smoke bombs, and song.

Sunday’s match between Morocco’s Wydad AC and Italian giant Juventus might have been the most prominent display of that fandom as the game was halted for a hydration break, but also to let billowing smoke disperse in the stadium.

“That’s part of soccer culture, soccer fandom,” Bedoya said. “That is maybe not something that American sports fans are used to, but I think Philly fans really take to that because they can see what true passion is really all about.”

It serves as a precursor to Philly’s involvement in next year’s FIFA World Cup. While it’s true that the Club World Cup is a fraction of the number of people expected to descend upon Lincoln Financial Field this time next year, it has served as the litmus test in understanding just how raucous things could get.

Bedoya is no stranger to how intense World Cups can be. He took part in the 2014 edition in Brazil as a member of the U.S. men’s national team group that lost to Belgium in the knockout round after a strong run in Group G.

He noted, however, that the Club World Cup has allowed American soccer fans to snap out of the “Eurocentric” approach to the game and witness firsthand the passion of fans from other countries and continents.

“Here in America, we’re a little bit Eurocentric in terms of the teams that fans follow, but … the [fan] following from South American teams, and even the African teams … with the flares and the smoke, and just singing all game long has been incredible," he said.

“I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like for the FIFA World Cup next summer. It’s going to be [on] another level. So I think it’s awesome for Americans to experience some of this already [through the Club World Cup].”