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Letter From America

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Who knew that by the time I made my seasonal reappearance, two out of three hosts would have enjoyed absolute spankings of comically inept opposition, and even more surprisingly - Birchy would have developed genuine English enthusiasm!

I am typing having just witnessed a cagey and uneventful 45 mins of goal-less “action” between Mexico & South Korea, ending in the Mexico fans roundly booing their team at the HT whistle. Cue a goalie clanger 5 mins in to the 2nd half to gift Mexico the lead and those same fans are going BANANAS & lauding their 11 heroes on the field. Love it.

So here we are, one week into what is a 5 week extended format marathon, and as I finally shake off my disappointment of Gianni pricing me out of my dream of touring the country for a month (never mind the ticket prices, FIFA wouldn’t even have let the RV in the car park due to their “hospitality” stations), it’s time for a recap of the action so far from the host country:

Americana

While it could take the whole post to lament the extortion of the lifeblood of this beautiful game, the 7 days of footie action has me clasping to more positive vibes. The World Cup hosted by the league champions of capitalism has had predictable consequences. FIFA knew it - the desire of the football fan far exceeded the ticket prices (& in Scotland’s case, also exceeded the beer supplies). I have to admit at being slightly surprised to see Iran vs New Zealand being played out in a full stadium, but ask any Argentinian fan if they regret the vast sum they paid to witness a majestic Messi hat-trick, and I think you know the answer..

But enough of the gripes, I’m embracing the 2nd half Mexican and staying with the positivity. And I don’t have to go far - the US team has generated genuine hope on these shores. Often industrious and athletic when having prior World Cup success, the 2026 version has more substance. Pulisic seems focused, Balogun crucially looks like a genuine goal scorer and Poch has them well organized. Paraguay were woeful, and harder tests await, but this is the most talented US team yet (note I say team - squad depth is Everton levels) & another win versus Australia to win the group will only be good for the tournament. A mind boggling 2 million people just showed up in Manhattan to cheer the New York Knicks, and while there’s real ⚽️ enthusiasm here (see Iran vs NZ sellout) , it was a great visual on how far football still needs to go to catch up to the US staples.

Big-shots

It feels like it’s apt that the USA show is providing the stage for the megastars to show their stuff. With the extended format leading to an influx of mid-table-esque nations, the race for the golden boot looks like being a shootout of the very best. Mbappe, Haaland, Kane, Messi are all licking their lips - and can only imagine the carnage had any of that crew been drawn against the shambolic Qataris tonight.

Big-saves

At the very death, the Mexican keeper Raul Rangel just pulled off the (double) save of the tournament to secure the win for Mexico, securing the group win and guaranteeing them home field advantage in the knockout stages. 

Not many other keeper’s have stood out so far for me, aside from the ageless Vozinha for Cape Verde… a champion of old man footie across the world! Randomly, Zidane’s son is here, parading in goal for Algeria. Based on his showing vs Messi, we can only conclude there’s been some tortuous father / son shootouts in the family back garden that has created some childhood trauma.

Big-mouths

Ok. I made it 9 paragraphs before mentioning the ginger maestro Mr Lalas, but I can’t ignore it forever. Yet again, Fox has inexplicably continued with his punditry services, however it has now hilariously paired him up with Zlatan and Thierry Henry. And while Alexi has brought some magic such as calling James Corden a “full kit wanker” live on air, the growing disdain for this ‘expert’ pundit that Zlatan and Thierry are failing miserably to hide with each passing day is glorious tv. With 4 weeks to go, I’m bringing the popcorn to see where this takes us!

As for Tuchel’s boys, I have nothing to add to Birchy’s astute observations. Well coached, shackles off, positivity - but with work to do. Including hunting down who signed off on those photo shoots. I swear Gordon’s anonymous display was driven by sheer remorse at agreeing to the proofs…

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