Two decades ago, when their nation hosted the World Cup, Germans enjoyed what they still call the sommermärchen: the summer fairytale, when the country fell back in love with its national soccer team as it embarked on a stirring run to the World Cup semifinal.
The sommermärchen felt relevant last Friday in Seattle, when, on a picture-perfect Northwest summer day, in front of a raucous crowd of nearly 67,000 fans in the American game’s heartland, the United States beat Australia 2-0 to secure their place in the World Cup knockout stages.
After the match, with the crowd belting out John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” and the players happily circling the field, some singing along with the music, you could feel something stirring—a moment many have dreamed about for decades, when this country falls decisively head over heels for the world’s game and its own national team.
The U.S. has won its group and will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in its first knockout game in the Bay Area on Wednesday, July 1. A favorable draw means the U.S., playing exceptional soccer so far, may be favored to reach the quarterfinal—and means we may be in for our own summer fairytale.
Who’s Up?
1. Nostalgia
Not since 2006, the World Cup swansong of Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo, and Beckham, have we seen so many outstanding players taking the sport’s greatest stage for the final time.
There’s Lionel Messi of Argentina, whose wizardry on Monday in Dallas set the all-time World Cup goalscoring record. There’s Luka Modric, his generation’s most elegant midfield player, still captaining Croatia. Even Cristiano Ronaldo, lambasted for his stuttering, selfish play in Portugal’s opening game, rolled back the years to score twice in their encounter with Uzbekistan.
In Miami on Wednesday evening, the Brazilian fans’ biggest roar was not for a goal, but the introduction of their aging icon, Neymar, for his first minutes in the tournament. Neymar struggled with the pace of the game, but that did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm that swept the stadium each time he touched the ball.
It was a similar story three hours later in Mexico City, where Memo Ochoa, now El Tri’s reserve goalkeeper, took the field as a substitute for likely the final time in his glittering career and was greeted with an ecstatic reception. Ochoa kissed the goalposts and wiped away tears, taking pictures with his family after the final whistle.
In a tournament where the biggest names have delivered in spades, with Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Vinicius Jr. all chasing the Golden Boot alongside Messi, the love for Neymar and Ochoa is a reminder that in football, there is little more powerful than the force of the memory of days gone by.
2. Colombia
Plenty of teams have made excellent starts to the World Cup—including Mexico, which became just the sixth team ever to win all their group matches without conceding a single goal—but in Guadalajara on Monday night, you’d have thought Colombia was the host nation.
Their support has been second to none. Their soccer, too, has been a joy: Colombia play with verve and intensity, a throwback playmaker free to roam across the grass, and a right back, Daniel Muñoz, who bombs forward and has scored goals in back-to-back games. They’ll be worth watching as the tournament moves forward.
3. Eloy Room
On July 16, Lionel Messi lit up Kansas City with his first World Cup hat trick. Four days later, a 37-year-old journeyman goalkeeper named Eloy Room, who plays his club soccer in the U.S. second division at Miami FC, walked onto the same field and delivered the other great individual performance of the tournament so far.
In Curaçao’s 0-0 draw with Ecuador, Room helped secure the tiny island nation’s first ever World Cup point by making a World Cup record-tying 15 saves—an achievement made all the more remarkable by the fact that, last year, Room didn’t even have a club and was training on his own in the Netherlands.
On Saturday night, he celebrated what he described as “almost the perfect game” by dancing in the Curaçao dressing room with the King and Queen of the Netherlands.
4. Carlos Queiroz
Ah, Carlos Queiroz: the master of doom, the dean of the dark arts, soccer’s greatest nightmare. The Ghana coach, 73 now, still outdressing the opposition in his blue blazer and prominent gold chain, has long held a reputation as one of the sports’ most notorious defensive coaches—a man who cares nothing for the aesthetic qualities of the game.
On Tuesday, facing England, Queiroz set Ghana up in one of the most soul-crushing low blocks the World Cup has ever seen: playing large portions of the match with all 11 players crammed into their own defensive third, Ghana had just 21 percent possession and conceded just three shots on goal—stymying the favored English in a 0–0 draw.
Queiroz, who came aboard as Ghana’s coach just three months before the tournament, also got into a fight with England star Jude Bellingham at halftime. If for some reason you missed Ghana’s defensive masterclass, you’ll have another chance to watch them in the knockout stages. You’ll never wax poetic about the beautiful game again.
Who’s Down?
1. Alexi Lalas
FOX’s carnival-barking lead analyst has brought his trademark blend of jingoism, clichés, and corporate shilling to the World Cup, and the soccer-watching public has taken notice.
Lalas has been heavily criticized for his performance in the studio so far, nowhere more colorfully than the pages of The Guardian, where Aaron Timms compared his presence to the Iran War: “no one wants it, everyone hates it, and as it drags on, it inevitably becomes a face-saving exercise in damage limitation.”
Lalas has not been the only unfortunate part of FOX’s coverage—his set-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic has likewise offered little of substance—but the torrent of negative reviews for Lalas in particular speak to a certain depth of feeling after his decade-plus reign of terror on American television sets. I’m thinking of them as a kind of lifetime achievement award.
2. South Korea
After winning plaudits for their fluid passing movements in their win on opening night against Czechia, South Korea has faceplanted in remarkable fashion—losing to Mexico, then losing again against South Africa in an effort so futile that a journalist asked manager Hong Myung-bo after the game if the team was suffering from food poisoning.
The Koreans still may advance as one of the eight best third place teams, but spirits are low: the squad recently staged a media blackout after journalists were caught on tape making disparaging comments about captain Son Heung-min, who hasn’t yet scored a goal and was benched for the last game.
How’s Our Team Doing?
Very well indeed (the starters at least, the backups were less impressive in Thursday night’s 3-2 loss to Türkiye). The U.S. dismantled Australia in the first half of that game in Seattle, using its press and relentless off-ball movement to unbalance the Australian defense. Mauricio Pochettino appears to be worth every penny U.S. Soccer is paying him.
How’s Our Team Doing?
Jordan, it was nice knowing you. The University of Portland-based Jordanians acquitted themselves admirably in their first World Cup appearance, but their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Algeria on Monday eliminated them from the competition. Jordan will play one more match, against Argentina, before departing. Perhaps one lucky player will receive Messi’s shirt.
