hThere have been some tense moments between the US and UK over the years. They kicked us out of their country. We burned your White House. We’re trying to hit Pierce Morgan. They brought her back. Competitions will resume on November 25 when the USMNT (USMNT) will face The Shield with the Three Lions in the second match of Group B at the World Cup in Qatar. The group also includes Iran and some from Wales, Scotland or Ukraine. (There are no prizes for guessing where loyalty is).
As for US involvement, don’t assume that no one in the US cares just because their country has international bragging rights to football, baseball, and basketball (and to be fair, the Olympics). Olympic Games, where other countries play).
Or that soccer fans, as the British used to call it and Americans still do, are happy to accept that they have the best women’s national team in the world with four World Cup victories, four Olympic Games wins and so many names. Lifts the veil on men’s brave efforts to catch up.
Americans are very competitive and passionate about sports. When there are no professional sports, there will be pubs, clubs, and houses where the exploits of university teams are shown. Even youngsters’ softball gets screen time. Football is gaining popularity. In December, it overtook ice hockey to become the fourth most popular sport in the country.
MLS men’s leagues may not be on par with the major European nations, but there is plenty of football: NBC has a $2 billion deal to show Premier League matches, while Paramount Plus broadcasts all Serie A matches.
A December study found that 49 percent of Americans say they enjoy watching football on TV, compared to 37 percent who like to watch ice hockey, which is a good thing because the 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
As for this year’s draw, US insiders don’t seem too concerned about the prospect of facing the nation that finished second at Euro 2020 and fourth at the World Cup two years ago alongside the Golden Boot. So the Americans come up with their own classification this time.
ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle said the USMNT avoided a “doomsday scenario.” Fox Sports’ Doug McIntyre commented that the team “could have done worse than England’s performance”. Former US defender Alexei Lalas said: herd: “I am really looking forward to the opportunity to play against England because they think they are very good, and they are in so many different ways. But there is this constant inconsistency and there is this arrogance, so the chance of winning them in the World Cup is just not delicious, I said.”
He added that he would not be surprised “at least” if the current US team could go to Qatar and beat England and “silence them”. Admittedly, the squad doesn’t lack quality: there’s Christian Pulisic of Chelsea, Weston McKinney of Juventus, Sergino Dest of Barcelona, and Josh Sargent of Norwich City.
It remains to be seen if that will be enough for Greg Berhalter’s men to come forward. But one stat that should worry Americans and Gareth Southgate’s team is this: USMNT has never lost to England in a World Cup. They tied in 2010 and the United States won 1-0 in 1950, eliminating England. Can England’s national pride survive history repeating itself? Well, we’re past the return of Piers Morgan, so anything is possible. Let’s hope it doesn’t get that far.
yours,
Phil Thomas
Assistant Editor (USA)
