Observations from 12 days into the World Cup

America has arrived.

For the first time since 1930, with what I can only guess was a team comprised of American players playing soccer for the first time, the USMNT have won games back to back in the World Cup. They have won their group for only the third time in their history and did it with a game to spare, a first in USMNT history. This put’s the squad in an excellent position to rest some key players in the final group stage game while lining up an possible dream run into the knockout rounds as the US will play a third place team in the round of 32. Keep an eye on the Bosnia Vs. Qatar game on 6/24 as the US could likely play the winner of that match, a dream match up for a knockout round game.

The boys came into their Friday match riding a high of what was likely their greatest ever performance in a World Cup game. Repeating that magic was going to be unlikely due the absence of Pulisic and a staunchly disciplined Aussie side that likely spent a few hours in the film room. The US produced a tactical, well organized match and showed they can adapt and win in different ways, an essential trait for any good World Cup team. Most importantly, they kept a clean sheet, for what felt like the first time since 1930. This team showed they can sit back and sustain pressure when they need to and they looked relatively comfortably doing it. The victory was made even sweeter by the tournament’s best atmosphere to date. As 60,000 fans in Seattle belted out “Country Roads,” the song reverberated throughout the stadium and country. Every memorable team seems to find an anthem, and this one may have found theirs.

If you build it, they will come.

Leading into this World Cup, there was plenty of negative coverage and concern around ticket prices, fan experiences, the corrosive nature of FIFA, transit infrastructure, and the general political climate in the US. Some of these concerns were legitimate and some were overblown. I think it’s fair to say that this World Cup has been a resounding success so far. After having two World Cups in what can only be described as more sterile environments (Russian then Qatar), the world was ready for a party and the good ole USA has delivered. The cultural exchanges have been incredible, stadiums have been packed and the atmosphere has been electric. Whether its the Scottish discovering craft beer, the Dutch discovering Dutch bro’s coffee or the Norwegians discovering escalators to row on, the pictures and videos have been amazing. If your just a bit World Cup curious, I encourage you to find a bar, find a watch party and make a new friend.

The Cinderella’s have come to play.

Due to the expanded format of this World Cup, there was concern that the new teams would dilute some of the competition and make the group stages less appealing. While there have been a few blowouts, the smaller nations have come to play with Curacao, Congo, Cape Verde and the Ivory Coast all notching impressive results. What has been even more impressive is that these teams have not come to “park the bus” and pray for a tie. They are playing fearless, pushing forward and trying to win games and every nation is better off for it.

Times are a changing.

This edition of the World Cup came with several rule changes meant to cut down on time wasting, speed up game play and reduce confrontational player behavior. For the most part, the rule changes have had a great impact on the game. Historically, players will take any opportunity to waste time if they felt it was advantageous to the outcome of the game. FIFA has introduced rules around subbing, restarts, medical treatment and tactical timeouts that have cut down these shenanigans and improved the flow of the game. One rule change that seems have created what appears to unifying global resistance is the hydration break. The hydration break was proposed under the guise of player safety and wellness for games in heat zones but has come across more as a thinly veiled strategy by FIFA to extract more ad revenue by turning a two half game into four quarters. Literally every game I have watched in person or at a bar I have heard people booing the hydration breaks. In soccer, suffering is an inherent part of the game. The South American’s have wrapped their whole soccer identify around suffering being a badge of honor, and with more hydration you get less suffering. Beyond the vision of how the game should be played, the hydration breaks are making a significant impact on the game, with many teams using the three minute breaks as a tactical timeout to adjust game play. Will be interesting to see if FIFA adjusts after the group stages.

Eli