The wins keep coming for Birmingham’s burgeoning soccer footprint.

The city shattered an attendance record for a pro soccer game last week, and on Thursday night Birmingham’s Chris Richards starred for the United States Men’s National Team in that impressive 3-0 victory against rival Mexico. Richards is only 23 years old, but he looked like a veteran defender against El Tri.

Richards and the USMNT take on Alphonso Davis and Canada at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday in the finals of the CONCACAF Nations League in Las Vegas. Buoyed by the emergence of Richards as a key player for the USMNT, developments are in the works to promote Birmingham as a valuable community for the future of soccer in the United States.

The men’s World Cup is coming to North America in 2026. Birmingham missed out on the bidding process to host games due to delays in the development of Protective Stadium, but that doesn’t mean U.S. Soccer has forgotten about Birmingham’s potential to host important games for the national teams. Behind the scenes, advocates for Birmingham are pushing to bring a U.S. World Cup qualifier or friendly to Protective Stadium.

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It makes sense for a lot of reasons. My personal favorite is the spotlight it would shine on Richards as a budding international soccer star from Alabama. The U.S. center back played flawlessly against Mexico. He’s the anchor of what appears to be a strong U.S. defense. Through Richards, the USMNT has an important story to tell about the potential of soccer in the Deep South.

Richards grew up playing on rec fields in the Birmingham area. He’s extremely proud of his Southern roots as a Black soccer player from Alabama. His arms feature prominent tattoos of leaders like Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Jr., Kobe Bryant and Muhammad Ali.

Richards projects a powerful image, but we’re learning that he’s equally as impressive inside the locker room of the USMNT. He’s already a beloved member of the team, and quickly turning into a leader. For me, it’s easy for someone who views things through a Southern lens to see why.

Richards’ laid back personality off the field is quintessentially Southern. That calming presence and attitude is refreshing in the high stakes world of international soccer, and Richards’ ability to bring people together is a major advantage for the USMNT.

Richards’ dad is Black and his mom is white. The family is blessed with a beautiful story to tell about the power of togetherness. I’m betting that a lot of people throughout the country would love to see that celebrated with a home game-style environment in Birmingham for Richards’ Team USA.

On top of that, Protective Stadium’s seating capacity (47,100) is perfect for a World Cup qualifier and Birmingham is centrally located in the Southeast. Can you imagine the U.S. playing Mexico in a World Cup qualifier in Birmingham? I don’t think it’s out of the question because Birmingham’s biggest selling point is its ability to pack Protective Stadium with a crowd that favors the U.S.

“At some point during qualifying, when the game really matters, we want a crowd that’s pro U.S.,” said Jay Heaps, the president of Birmingham Legion FC who competed for the national team as a player. “You know you’re going to get a pro-U.S. crowd in Birmingham.”

There’s absolutely no doubt about that.

For the USMNT, a pro-U.S. crowd on home soil can sometimes be tough to find.

The CONCACAF Nations League game at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium between the U.S. and Mexico felt like an away game for the U.S. It was a pro-Mexico crowd as expected, and things got out of hand for CONCACAF when the U.S. went up 3-0 in the second half.

In an embarrassing moment for soccer, the match ended prematurely when Mexico’s supporters began chanting an anti-gay slur.

It was ugly and something FIFA should be working to prevent in the build up for the shared World Cup between the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Maybe Mexico needs to lose World Cup games before soccer is embarrassed on the international stage. If FIFA needs a stadium in a pinch, then I know a place.

For its part, the USMNT has worked hard to promote diversity. The team’s current roster reflects the diversity within the United States, and key players like Birmingham’s Richards have taken vocal roles of leadership explaining the value of diversity as one of the country’s greatest virtues.

Birmingham was an epicenter for the Civil Rights Movement and is home to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Richards is a magnetic new star coming into his own. The buzz surrounding Birmingham Legion’s Open Cup match against MLS team Inter Miami didn’t go unnoticed within the sphere of U.S. Soccer. The attendance at Protective Stadium set a record for Legion games (18,418). For perspective, Inter Miami’s stadium only seats 18,000.

Things are coming together at a perfect time for Birmingham to grow into a surprising home for down-home Southern-fried U.S. Soccer.

Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama”, a book about togetherness, hope and rum. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.