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The temperatures across the South are still scorching (as usual).
World Cup Fever across the United States seems to be abating quite a bit today.
The three host countries in North America (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) for the 2026 World Cup soccer advanced into the Round of 16. That was a pleasant surprise and some very good news for fans in North America.
Sadly, the soccer teams for the three host countries all bit the dust over the past few days. None reached the quarterfinals, Elite Eight, or whatever the FIFA soccer people call this next round.
Action on Saturday July 4th saw Canada get skunked 3-0 by tiny Morocco. The Moroccans converted on three of their four shots on goal to capture the win. Canada only attempted three shots on goal as they bowed out of this year’s competition.
On Sunday, Mexico lost at home to England 3-2 in a very tightly contested match. The home team out passed England by a 2-1 margin. The number of completed passes by Mexico (418 to 195 for England) was impressive but didn’t lead to enough points.
As golfers might translate, “Pass for show, but kick goals for dough.”
The final host country bowed out of World Cup 26 on Monday in Seattle.
World Cup host United States had all eyes focused on Seattle Monday evening for its Round of 16 game against Belgium. Team USA was coming off a raucous Independence Day weekend filled with fireworks and patriotic enthusiasm as the nation celebrated 250 years.
Apparently, America’s soccer team failed to receive a fiery jingoistic pregame message. Belgium breezed to a surprisingly easy 4-1 win over an American team which looked like it had a case of World Cup stage fright on Monday night.
The US was attempting to reach the quarterfinals (round of 8) for the first time since 2002. Belgium’s Red Devils (yes, that’s their nickname) had never even reached the quarterfinals – before Monday night’s game against Team USA.
Despite having a very loud advantage playing in the home stadium of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, the American team laid a proverbial egg Monday night in losing 4-1 to Belgium.
The team looked lethargic (overconfident, perhaps?) and did not appear ready for a game of this magnitude.
Much like the European golfers have dominated golf’s Ryder Cup matches the past few decades, the European soccer teams seemed more cohesive and better prepared.
The quarterfinals will feature seven European teams and just one South American squad. All of these games will be shown on FOX Television. Times are CDT:
Thursday – France vs. Morocco (3PM) in Foxboro, MA
Friday – Spain vs. Belgium (2PM) in Los Angeles, CA
Saturday – Norway vs. England (4PM) in Miami, FL
Saturday – Argentina vs. Switzerland (8PM) in Kansas City, MO
Team USA’s bubble was burst on Monday night by a Belgian team which was not considered to be one of the top European squads.
America once again proved that their team has exceptional ability, but their team resolve in tough matches isn’t quite as determined as other top competitors.
Perhaps the US should hire Olympic Dream Team members such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird to help prepare the soccer team next time?
Question – Will Americans still watch the remaining World Cup games without Team USA involved?
The World Cup soccer television ratings have been a success for FOX Sports. Last Wednesday’s 2-0 win by Team USA over Bosnia-Herzegovina drew 26 million viewers.
Early reports indicated that more than 30 million viewers tuned into FOX on Monday night during the American team’s 4-1 loss to Belgium.
That’s about 1/3 of the number of viewers for a Super Bowl game. That is quite impressive. The total exceeds the viewership of nearly every NFL regular season game.
But…
Are you planning to tune in for the afternoon quarterfinal games on Thursday and Friday? The next night game on the schedule won’t occur until Saturday night’s quarterfinal game in Kansas City featuring Argentina and Switzerland. The Swiss won a 0-0 game over Colombia Tuesday afternoon following a 4-3 shootout success.
I will be surprised if World Cup soccer will lure 15 to 20 million American viewers for the upcoming quarterfinal round of games.
Red Card Outrage!
The US team was given (theoretically) an advantage before Monday’s game with Belgium.
A dreaded Red Card was handed to an American player by a referee in the previous game after two players got their legs tangled-up. The Red Card would have disqualified the American player from participating on Monday night against Belgium.
Following a call from US President Donald Trump asking for an executive review, a FIFA committee rescinded the Red Card and reinstated the American player. The Belgian team was outraged by that decision. It added more motivation to take down the US squad in Monday night’s game.
Have you noticed the unique grammar involving World Cup sports stories?
I was reading a news story posted on ESPN Sunday and ran across the following sentences (among many):
“Norway were stronger, better organized, and more capable with the ball.”
“Norway are a very good team”
What is going on here? Who is writing this stuff?
The best answer I could find is that Europeans (who speak “proper” English, of course) refer to their national soccer/football team as if it was a plural noun.
I’m not picking on ESPN in particular for this odd writing style during the World Cup. Other major news outlets have been doing the same thing.
I’ll counter with this suggestion.
If the soccer match is being played in Europe, write the story any way you prefer. That’s fine.
When the game is being played in Kansas City, Missouri, or another American city, please write your story utilizing the preferred grammar used by American readers.
Fakery Bakery is open for business again this year at the World Cup
Soccer is played without protective pads except around the lower legs. Contact between the players while they run at full speed or jump into the air to hit the ball with their head is inevitable. Legitimate sports injuries affect every team.
However, the sport continues to hone fakery to new levels of acting in order to draw a penalty from the game’s referees. Feigning an injury on the field to draw a sympathetic penalty from the refs has become too commonplace in soccer.
A 0-0 defensive struggle like Tuesday’s epic (Zzzz…) between Switzerland and Colombia can tempt players to feign injury to help their team get a better shot on goal.
Winning a “World Cup Academy Award” in the category of Overacting seems to be a must for many players.
For fun, keep your eyes on those “injured” players.
Once they receive that penalty call on an opponent, their injured leg, back, or other body part seems to heal almost immediately.
It’s a miracle!
Mexican fans performed their version of the Texas A&M Aggies’ Midnight Yell
Mexican soccer fans pulled out all the stops last week in trying to win their World Cup games in Mexico City. During some recent games, the home team’s zealous fans camped outside of the hotel which was hosting the opposing team.
From late at night until the wee hours of the next morning, a throng of Mexican fans threw a loud party replete with Mariachi bands, singing, chanting, and air horns all night long. They were trying to disrupt the sleep of the team’s next day opponent.
The Mexican fans’ version of a Texas A&M Midnight Yell practice was in excessively bad taste and displayed rather poor sportsmanship.
In the end, England ended Mexico’s midnight serenade with a 3-2 win to eliminate the host country.
Life is much quieter today in Mexico City.