Because North Texas will probably never host an Olympics, this World Cup tournament is likely the biggest sports event that you will ever get to witness without leaving home. AT&T Stadium has been renamed Dallas Stadium for the occasion — how’s that supposed to make us in Tarrant County feel? (MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford has been temporarily renamed “New York New Jersey Stadium.” FIFA couldn’t spring for Fort Worth’s name?) Anyway, the place in Arlington will host more matches than any other venue, with five in the group stage and four in the knockout rounds, even if the final will be in *sigh* New York New Jersey Stadium.
With 48 different fanbases coming to our shores and 104 games to be played (as opposed to 64 in years past), there’s a lot to sort through. I already published Part 1 and Part 2 of my recap of the different countries that will be competing. Even so, my imaginary interviewer and I will be working overtime to help you make sense of everything.
Boo-yah! Let’s get this party started with some gossip. What is the juiciest story on USA’s squad?
Gio Reyna and Sebastian Berhalter will be teammates. This comes after the winter of 2023, when Gio’s dad effectively got Sebastian’s dad fired as USA’s head coach. Smartly, U.S. Soccer hired a new coach in Mauricio Pochettino who has no prior loyalties to either family. (He’s also coached in a Champions League final, so there’s that.) The young Berhalter can deliver an accurate dead ball but is too easily overrun in midfield during open play. The young Reyna can produce odd moments of magic in attack but has suffered too many injuries in the last four years to find a consistent groove. Both players might see action if USA is trailing late and needs a goal. Neither figures to crack the starting lineup. It could get real awkward on that sideline.
How will USA play?
Your guess is as good as mine. Pochettino is smarter than me when it comes to the X’s and O’s of this sport. One adjustment he has made in USA’s friendly matches leading up to this has been playing Sergiño Dest as an out-and-out winger. The PSV Eindhoven right-back is listed as a defender, but actually defending has been the weakness of his game, so taking away his defensive responsibilities makes sense. (He scored in the tune-up match against Senegal, too.) Elsewhere, the coach seems to favor playing Weston McKennie in midfield beside Tyler Adams, even though McKennie’s coach at Juventus, Luciano Spalletti, converted him into an attacking winger this past season and saw McKennie churn out goals and assists from that position. It’s a shame that Johnny Cardoso’s high-grade ankle sprain is causing him to miss this World Cup, because a lineup with Cardoso and Adams holding down midfield and McKennie bombing forward would be formidable.
Are there other areas of concern?
The extravagantly Afro-ed Chris Richards is USA’s best defensive player, but he hurt his ankle last month playing for Crystal Palace and has been on the bench since. If he’s limited or out when the tournament actually starts, that will place enormous pressure on the rest of the defensive corps. In response, Poch has switched between alignments with three and four defenders, which affects how the team conducts business farther up the pitch.
Courtesy U.S. Soccer
Will our defense hold up?
The good news is that USA’s Group D opponents Australia and Paraguay might not have enough offensive talent to make it matter how our guys line up. It will still bear watching how the coach sets his players out against the Turks’ high-level creators. If I’m Türkiye Coach Vincenzo Montella, I’m thinking hard about moving winger Arda Güler to the middle of the offense against USA. The thought of 38-year-old Tim Ream having to deal with the fast and tricky Real Madrid attacker must give us pause. Encouragingly, Richards recently said that he feels great and was seen looking relaxed on the bench during USA’s loss to Germany in the last friendly match before the World Cup.
If Richards can’t go, can he be replaced?
Yes. The deadline for injury replacements is 24 hours before the team plays its first match, so Pochettino can call up someone else until Thursday, June 11.
Is there precedent for this?
At World Cup 2002, Brazilian defensive linchpin Émerson got hurt in practice after the team had already arrived in Japan. The Brazilians surprisingly tapped Gilberto Silva to replace him, and “The Invisible Wall” played every minute during Brazil’s run to the title. Silva would go on to enjoy a glittering career as a player.
What would constitute failure for Team USA here?
This much is certain: If USA fails to advance out of the group stage, that will be more embarrassing than not qualifying for World Cup 2018. Given the favorable draw and the fact that some third-place teams will survive, there can be no excuses for crashing out at the first hurdle. It would tarnish the reputations of everyone involved.
How would we measure success for Team USA?
We need a scalp. Our Mexican neighbors beat a dysfunctional France side in 2010 and took down mighty Germany in 2018. A similar win over one of soccer’s established superpowers would do wonders for our national program. Failing that, a memorable last-second escape like Landon Donovan’s stoppage-time winner against Algeria in 2010 would do. Good performances on the world stage matter, but not as much as great moments.
Will this be the least fan-friendly World Cup ever?
It’s already in the running, which is impressive given Russia’s dictatorship in 2018 and Qatar withholding alcohol and telling the gays to stay home in ’22. We’re going to counter that with scorching heat, price gouging, sky-high gas prices, public transportation systems stretched to the breaking point, and ICE agents at the games. Some of these issues have already driven away overseas tourists, and it wouldn’t be surprising if some foreign visitors took this opportunity to show the world how much they hate America, especially if the creep who started a war to take our minds off the Epstein files shows up at one of the matches.
Why are ICE agents going to be at the games?
Ya got me there. The games will have so many foreigners in the country legally, how are the agents supposed to tell who’s not here legally?
What do you think of the new Team USA jersey?
Our national team has a history of uniforms that aren’t very exciting to look at, and while you could say the same about England and Germany, those countries’ success on the pitch has more than made up for it. The players actually gave their input on Nike’s redesign of USA’s jerseys for 2026, and I say it works. The wavy red stripes on the primary kit are more dynamic than the straight red bands the team sported in 2012 or the red-and-blue stripes from 2016.
So, who’s gonna win this one?
The usual suspects are in place: France, England, and Brazil all have top-level players distributed evenly throughout their lineups plus proven coaches who won’t screw things up, even if Didier Deschamps, Thomas Tuchel, and Carlo Ancelotti aren’t much fun at parties. If Lamine Yamal is truly fit and firing, then I’d consider Spain among the favorites as well.
Who’s going to disappoint?
I usually look to France to provide some dysfunction and unnecessary off-pitch drama, but this current version of Les Bleus doesn’t give off that vibe. Instead, I’m looking at Germany. I like Julian Nagelsmann as a coach, but I’m seeing a lot of question marks on the offensive end. Conversely, Netherlands has an iffy defense, with dynamic fullbacks alongside central defenders who are starting to creak, particularly with Matthijs de Ligt missing this World Cup through injury.
Which team has the highest range of outcomes?
Portugal. Their talent in defense, midfield, and attack is as good as the contenders, but they have shaky goalkeepers, guys with questionable work ethic (João Félix, Rafael Leão), and two scorers in Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes who can nevertheless grind the offense to a halt. Intellectually, Coach Roberto Martínez is capable of sorting it out, but whether he can impose his will on this group of players is another question.
Who’s going to surprise us?
Under other circumstances, I might go with Norway, but too many people are seeing them coming. Ecuador and Bosnia-Herzegovina have intriguing mixes of talent and winnable group matchups, but I’m picking the Democratic Republic of the Congo. While the Leopards don’t have any superstars who can drag them through a poor game, they have both experience and youth in defense and offense. If Portugal or Colombia should stumble, Congo will be there. The team will have to quarantine before they arrive here because of the country’s headline-making Ebola outbreak. The DRC could use a feel-good story.
Does FC Dallas have anybody in this tournament?
Yes, three players. I already mentioned Louicius Deedson (Haiti). Herman Johansson has made Sweden’s squad as a fullback, though he’s a long shot to see the pitch. Hoops fans will be more familiar with Petar Musa, who has scored 45 goals for FCD. The big Croatian center forward will likely serve as a backup to Ante Budimir, who has been finding the net regularly for Osasuna in Spain’s top flight, but Croatia may well throw on Musa late in games if they need a goal. On Team USA, Richards, McKennie, and Ricardo Pepi are all former FC Dallas guys.
Can this tournament be a success for our nation?
Ultimately, what observers tend to remember about World Cups is the moments that the games provide. Mexico in 1986 had to deal with political unrest and air pollution, but people mostly remember Diego Maradona rampaging through opposing defenses and scoring the infamous “Hand of God” goal. Brazil in 2014 had the home side receiving that massive beatdown from the Germans. Qatar in 2022 had Lionel Messi finally getting that gorilla off his back and winning a World Cup. It’s not impossible that our idiot president will take the occasion to lay a turd on the world stage that tarnishes America’s image even more than he already has, but the matches are what everybody’s here for. World Cups are always epic, so let’s see what this one has in store.
