Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes says he’s been a nervous fan while watching U.S. at World Cup

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a cool customer on the football field, having led 11 fourth-quarter comebacks in his career and he has a dozen game-winning drives on his resume.

But on Tuesday, Mahomes was full of anxiety as he watched the U.S. men’s national soccer team defeat Iran 1-0 in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been that nervous for a team,” Mahomes said Thursday during his weekly appearance on KCSP (610 AM). “It was like I was back and I was a fan again. Usually I watch sports these days and I kind of just like watching. I like watching great sports and all sports, but with soccer in the USA and that pride that you have of we want to go out there and win, I was nervous just like any other fan.”

The United States held on for the victory and finished second in Group B behind England. That means the Team USA advanced to the Round of 16, and it will play the Netherlands on Saturday.

“I’m excited for them to get to the knockout stage,” Mahomes said. “I mean, obviously that’s the first goal is come in and you’ve got to win your division first. So they got into the knockout stage and are playing the Netherlands, who’s gonna have a great team, and I’m excited for those guys to go out there and accept that challenge.”

The U.S.-Netherlands game kicks off at 9 a.m., which won’t be a good time for Mahomes to watch. At that time, Chiefs coach Andy Reid will be preparing his team for Sunday’s game against the Bengals in Cincinnati.

Mahomes, who is part of the Sporting Kansas City ownership group while his wife, Brittany, is a Current owner, still is hoping to catch part of the game.

“I don’t know there’s really a plan. I’m sure Coach Reid will have our ... last walkthrough right during that time so we’ll probably miss a good bit of it,” Mahomes said. “But maybe while we’re kind of getting dressed and getting ready to go to the the airplane and travel, we’ll be able to throw it on our phones and watch it there. And so I’m sure we’ll catch at least the second half of it and I’ll be just as nervous then and hopefully they can maybe build a little bit of a lead for us.”