‘It’s surreal’: FOX’s John Strong, Stu Holden prepare to call historic World Cup on North American soil

In 2018, John Strong and Stu Holden were behind the mic for the first time as FOX Sports’ lead commentary duo for the World Cup. Though it was FOX Sports’ first time broadcasting the tournament, Strong and Holden were plenty familiar with each other already, serving as the network’s top commentary team for its coverage of Major League Soccer.

Despite 2026 being their third go-around on soccer’s biggest stage, the opportunity to do so never gets old.

“I never take for granted the opportunity that we have, and sometimes it doesn’t honestly set in that we’re going to be the lead team for our third straight World Cup,” Holden said from his home in Los Angeles during a virtual media event.

Strong and Holden’s tenure as FOX’s No. 1 soccer booth pales in comparison to lead commentary teams in other major sports. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have called NFL games together since 2002, first at FOX as a three-man booth with Cris Collinsworth and eventually as a two-man booth starting in 2005 before moving to ESPN. Jim Nantz and Tony Romo have been paired at CBS since 2017. Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy were ESPN’s No. 1 NBA booth for years.

Nine years may not be long compared to that, but long enough for Strong and Holden to build a lasting bond.

“We were kids at 32 years old. We’re both 40 years old right now heading into this, and it’s still young compared to broadcasting duos in other sports, let alone the fact that I get to do it with my best friend,” Holden said.

Strong and Holden’s World Cup journey has taken them all across the Russian countryside and throughout Qatar. This one will be different, though: it will be the first they’ve called one on home soil. (Their first of several visits to Atlanta will be on June 15, as tournament favorite Spain takes on Cabo Verde in Group H.)

Strong, from his home in Portland, recounted being on a flight making its final approach to Sochi, Russia, ahead of the 2018 tournament while the 2026 host was announced during the FIFA Congress in Moscow.

“There’s no Wi-Fi on Aeroflot as we were coming in … When we got close enough to the ground that our phones got reception again, all of our phones started dinging and buzzing,” Strong said. “If you remember, there was a little bit of anxiety that Morocco might kind of pip them at the last moment.”

Ultimately, the United States, Canada, and Mexico’s bid was successful, setting into action a chain of events that culminates with the curtain-raiser between Mexico and South Africa at the Azteca on June 11.

“It’s surreal,” Strong said. “Eight years of thinking about it, planning for it, every conversation, every decision, every everything, kind of with this focus, and for it to be a matter of days away is deeply surreal, but incredibly exciting.”

It’s not lost on FOX Sports that the World Cup could prove to be a catalytic event in how the sport of soccer is perceived in the United States. The same can be said about Canada, where hockey dominates the headlines for much of the year. In Mexico, though, fútbol is a religion.

For the United States, it’s in its best interest to put together a successful run in the tournament to continue to pique the interest of those who may not be knee-deep in the sport. Strong, Holden, and sideline reporter Jenny Taft will call every USMNT match during the tournament, starting on June 12 against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium.

“The traditional Mexico City Azteca Stadium crowd is much more like, okay, do something. But I think the U.S. and Canada, the opening games are of the utmost importance to be able to engage the more casual fans in the country who are inclined enough to sort of root for the country, but aren’t obviously diehard fans of the sport,” Strong said.

“And so, by winning the opener, you hook the casual fans in really quickly, and that’s a really important component. It’s what Russia did in 2018, it’s what the Australian women did (during the Women’s World Cup) in 2023, which was, I think, another great experience to see how a country that is somewhat more agnostic to soccer can get roped in really quick.”

Holden concurred.

“They’re going to want to show out in a way that lets people know that ‘we’re here for America’ and they’re going to root on this team. And I think it’s going to embed this bug, this infectious bug that will take on this country,” he said.

“We want our teams to win. I did it with hockey (during the U.S. men’s hockey team’s gold-medal run during the 2026 Olympics). And so, I think if this U.S. team wins that first game, you’re gonna see something you’ve never seen here before, and that’s what this team needs to do a deep run.”

The 2026 World Cup marks the final FOX will call under its current contract. Netflix, which holds the U.S. and Canadian exclusive broadcast rights for the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cup, has said that it is keen to discuss with FIFA the possibility of gaining right for the men’s event in 2030.

Regardless of whether or FOX will be covering the tournament, Strong and Holden’s desire is to do right by the American viewing public during a tournament last held in the U.S. in 1994.

“It’s a really difficult thing to try to live in the moment of what is going to be such a historic event, and I think about it through my kids’ eyes,” Holden said. “I have 10-year-old and 5-year-old kids that are going to be going to some of these games, and (I think about) what that impression will be like, thinking back to 9-year-old Stu in the 94 World Cup and what that was like for me.”

“It’s a subjective business, so what people think of the work we do is inherently subjective,” Strong added.

“What I can say with complete certainty is there’s no two people to whom this means more, and there’s no two people who have worked harder.”