Americans seeking inspiration during this anniversary of independence should turn away from the nation's capital, where Donald Trump's narcissistic celebration provides only national embarrassment (and perhaps a few laughs).

They can look instead to the World Cup, where the performance of the U.S. Men's National Team is renewing the patriotic pride and national solidarity of a free people — led by players whose diversity and citizenship stand against the anti-immigrant bigotry of the current regime.

At a time when Trump and his xenophobic henchman Stephen Miller shriek incessantly about immigrants "poisoning" the nation — and just vowed to continue their unconstitutional crusade against birthright citizenship — the USMNT is a living testament to true American values.

Under the motto "One Nation, One Team," their roster is one of the most diverse in the world. The 26 players on the World Cup squad are not just interracial, with 12 Black and three Latino players, but include six born overseas to military families, and a dozen with immigrant roots in eight other countries around the globe.

Team USA, like the nation it represents, features an extraordinary global array of languages and cultures, with players who learned the sport in their home country like Gio Reyna, raised in suburban New York, and team captain Christian Pulisic, who grew up in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and Malik Tillman, who spent his boyhood in Bavaria on a German youth team.

And then there is the instructive case of Folarin Balogun, born by accident in Brooklyn when his Nigerian mother, on her way back to England, was told by airline officials that her pregnancy was too advanced for her to fly safely.

Like so many of his teammates, the hugely talented Balogun chose to join the USMNT and feels a special responsibility in doing so. Having scored three goals for Team USA before he got a red card in last week's victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina, he has said, "To represent the United States means a lot. I just hope I can bring that prestige and winning mentality over into soccer."