World Cup 2026: born in California, cheering for Switzerland
Tim, Leon and Theo Basler were born and raised in California, yet proudly wear the Swiss national team’s red jersey. The young brothers are thrilled at the chance to finally see Switzerland play in a major stadium – against Qatar in their World Cup opener on June 13.
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World Cup 2026: born in California, cheering for Switzerland
Night is falling in Switzerland – but the midday sun is shining brightly in California. Nine hours separate Bern from our interview partners based in Mountain View, south of San Francisco. Tim, 17, and Leon, 14, have just arrived home from school. Their younger brother Theo, 12, is the only one missing – he is still in class.
On Saturday, the Swiss national team will play its first World Cup Group B match against Qatar at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, just a stone’s throw from their home. “We have never seen Switzerland play before,“ says Tim. “That’s why this is going to be so cool.”
The two young Swiss sit in front of their laptop sporting the distinctive red jersey of the Swiss national team. Leon put it on especially for our online interview, while Tim had already been wearing his at school. For his classmates, this is nothing unusual. “My friends know me as the Swiss kid,“ he says.
When the Swiss national team takes to the pitch at the 2026 World Cup in the US, it will not only be playing in front of fans who have travelled there especially for the tournament. Many Swiss Abroad living in the US and Canada will also be cheering them on.
Ahead of the World Cup, Swissinfo spoke to Swiss nationals in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Vancouver – three cities where the Swiss national team will be playing during the tournament. What’s their experience of the World Cup in their new home? And what does it mean to suddenly see Switzerland playing on their doorstep?
We begin with a Swiss family in Silicon Valley.
Swiss group-stage matches in the US:
Switzerland – Qatar, June 13, San Francisco
Switzerland – Bosnia-Herzegovina, June 18, Los Angeles
Switzerland – Canada, June 24, Vancouver
Strong ties to Switzerland
The three brothers were born and raised in California, where they attend a public school. Although the family has lived in Silicon Valley for over 20 years, Switzerland remains an integral part of their daily lives.
In a preparatory call ahead of our interview, their mother Nicole explained where this strong connection comes from. In 2005, her husband Benjamin was given the chance to move to San José with his company. The family had originally planned to stay in California for just two or three years.
“It’s now been 21 years,” she says with a laugh. A former teacher, she is active on the parents’ council at her children’s school and is involved in several non-profit organisations. And as a full-on “soccer mom”, she manages all three of her sons’ football teams.
The family has stayed in the US for the lifestyle, the climate and the international environment, Nicole explains. At home, they still speak Swiss German. “Outside our home, Swiss German is something of a secret language for the boys,” says the 47-year-old originally from Basel. The children are growing up multilingual, and every summer the family spends several weeks in Switzerland where all their relatives live. This year’s trip home, however, will be a little later than usual because of the World Cup.
FC Basel fans in California
Their love of football was born on the other side of the Atlantic. During their summer holidays in Switzerland in 2021, the brothers got swept up in football fever surrounding the Swiss national team at the European Championship. Today, all three play football, or soccer, as it is called in the US.
The fact that Switzerland will be competing for the World Cup in North America makes the tournament particularly special for the family. Yet there is a sting in the tail for the FC Basel fans. “We are disappointed that no current Basel player made the national team squad,” says Tim.
For their very first Switzerland match the brothers dream of taking home a special memento. If they were given a match jersey after the game, for example, the choice would be easy. “One from Breel Embolo,” Tim says without hesitation. Theo would probably disagree. The 12-year-old, who could not join the interview as he was still at school, is a big fan of Yann Sommer, according to his brothers. But as the goalkeeper has retired from the national team, he now looks up to Granit Xhaka and Manuel Akanji.
The pricey World Cup
Watching a World Cup match does not come cheap. The family paid around CHF300 ($375) per ticket for the group-stage match against Qatar. The price of five tickets stretched the family’s monthly budget, so their father decided to stay at home. “He volunteered to be our chauffeur,” Nicole says. Their seats may be high up in the stands, but the boys are almost as excited about the atmosphere in the stadium as they are about the game itself.
Despite the tournament taking place on their doorstep, there have been few early signs of World Cup fever. “Here, you can barely tell that the World Cup is about to kick off,” says Nicole. A recent trip to Vancouver, Canada, left her with the impression that football was far more visible north of the border. In San Francisco, by contrast, basketball and other sports still dominate the headlines.
The excitement among American schoolkids is also low key. While children in Switzerland are swapping Panini stickers and discussing possible scores, football plays a much smaller role at the brothers’ school. “People do talk about it,” says Tim. “But nowhere near as much as in Switzerland.”
How far will Switzerland go?
The boys have high expectations of the Swiss team. “They will make it at least to the quarter-finals,” says Tim confidently. “Maybe even the semi-finals or the final,“ Leon adds.
The family has strong ties to Switzerland beyond football. They are active in the “Peninsula Swiss Club”, and when asked what they love most about Switzerland, the brothers do not hesitate. “The food,” Tim declares. “Especially the bread from Beck’s bakery.” “And ice cream,” says Leon. Cheese and dairy products, they agree, are also better in Switzerland. “And the fact that all our relatives live there,” Leon adds.
What don’t they like about Switzerland? They struggle for an answer. “Nothing really,” says Leon after a long pause.
They are definitely excited about Switzerland’s first match against Qatar. Last year, they followed the Women’s European Championship in Switzerland with great enthusiasm, and now the men’s national team is playing on their home turf.
No matter how far Switzerland goes in this tournament, the three Swiss boys in California are sure to always remember this first group-stage match of the 2026 World Cup.
And what if Switzerland ends up playing against the US later in the tournament, who will they support? “Definitely Switzerland,“ they say without hesitation.
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Edited by Benjamin von Wyl/Adapted from German by Billi Bierling/sb
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