How America is shaping the World Cup

0:01I'm Aisha Roscoe and this is a Sunday story from Up First. In just a few days, billions of people from around the globe will tune in to the most watched sporting event there is, the FIFA World Cup. This year, three nations will co-host the tournament, Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. And the field will be the biggest ever, expanding from 32 national teams to 48. Today on the Sunday Story, a primer on all things World Cup, from the favorites and the underdogs, to Shakira, and to the global reach and unifying power of soccer. Stay with us.

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2:10I'm joined today by NPR's sports correspondent, Becky Sullivan, and NPR's Jasmine Garst, a diehard soccer fan and host of the podcast, The Last Cup. They're both covering the World Cup for NPR this year. Welcome to both of you. Hey there, Aisha. Hi. So the World Cup tournament is being played in the U.S. for the first time in over 30 years. I know a lot of people are really, really pumped about this. Yeah. Help me understand, like, what makes people so excited about this event? And what does it mean to each of you? Yeah, I mean, it's the biggest sporting event in the entire world. So, you know, just to give you a sense of the context, the Super Bowl, which is the biggest sporting event in the U.S., maybe, averages something over 100 million live viewers.

3:03But the World Cup final, I used to think like five times that much. So, you know, outside of the Olympics, it's basically the biggest thing. And in fact, depending on how you're calculating it, it's bigger than the Olympics. Any country with a soccer team can qualify. Theoretically, the qualification process takes years. So there's years of building up excitement for this level. And so, yeah, I mean, you've got people from Jasmine. What do you think? Like South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, all tuning in, not to mention, of course, here in the U.S. and the rest of North America. it's just huge.

3:35Yeah. It's like the Super Bowl of the world. And I think in order to understand how huge it is, you have to understand how enormous soccer, football is in countries outside of the U.S. In many countries outside of the U.S., soccer is like the unofficial religion. It's also like a social mobility machine. I mean, the dream, you know, the version of the American dream is like, You become a soccer player. You become a millionaire. You get out of poverty. I mean, soccer is so much more than soccer.

4:13That makes so much sense. Like, I have to say I'm a big fan of spectacle and people coming together. But let me ask you, like, is this normal, like having three countries co-hosting the tournament? I actually know this is the first time that there are three countries co-hosting, but it has gotten more common over the years to have a joint bid. I think the idea is that there's more existing infrastructure in place, more stadiums that are already built that you can use. The more cities, the more countries you have co-hosting the bid. So this joint bid thing is definitely has gotten more common and is going to continue to be more common in the years to come.

4:53But what we've got in this tournament is the U.S. co-hosting alongside Mexico and Canada. So 11 cities here in the state, two cities in Canada, three cities in Mexico. So the opening game that's going to be in Mexico City this Thursday night, the U.S. will kick off for the first time in L.A. the next day. Canada obviously gets to play in Toronto and in Vancouver. So, yeah, just games all across the three countries. And then the final will be just outside of New York City at the NFL stadium there. So I'm American. I'm going to root for Team USA. say, what can you tell me about the players on this year's squad?

5:29And do they have a chance? Like, are they good? Yeah. The U.S. obviously is like historically a huge underdog compared to the traditional powerhouses of soccer, which are in Europe and in South America. So we're talking like England, Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil. Those are sort of the traditional powerhouses. The U.S. is absolutely not on their level. And so do they have a chance to win the World Cup? Sure. They have a chance. Sounds like probably not. That's what it sounds like. You're hesitating. Anything is possible, Aisha. You're like, anything is possible. Anything is possible. Anything is possible when you are down to the 11 guys on each team and the ball and the pitch.

6:09And who can say? But it would definitely be a gigantic, huge underdog story if they did pull it off. But as for the team, you know, this group of guys in this sort of World Cup here on home soil has been circled on the calendar for a long time. because, you know, this is sort of like the first generation of American players who grew up playing soccer in these academies, developmental things, and then went overseas to play in Europe. And so our biggest stars play for some of Europe's top flight clubs. The U.S. has players who are playing in the English Premier League, players in the top Italian league called Serie A.

6:45They have players in the top French league, et cetera, et cetera. And the key guys, you know, Christian Pulisic, He's the sort of star forward, the guy who scores the most goals. Pulisic driving through. Still Pulisic. He's got there and he's scored. You have two midfielders, Tyler Adams and Weston McKinney, who are sort of like the heart and soul of the team. Weston McKinney! That was stunning from Tyler Adams. That really is a wonderful goal from Weston McKinney. He's back. All three of those guys are now 27. They're basically the three most important players on the team. And so they're in their prime.

7:26The World Cup is on home soil. That's like why people have been looking at this team and this opportunity for many years now. I think like realistically, in terms of a realistic goal, you hear people talk about a quarterfinal that would match the best finish for the U.S. in the sort of modern World Cup era. They reached a quarterfinal back in 2002. So if they can do that again, I think that would be just an enormous achievement. I think anything beyond that would be gravy. And so briefly, who are the frontrunners in this year's tournament? Well, I think being a journalist who predicts who's going to win the World Cup is a fool's errand.

8:10But I'll tell you, I think there's some really strong teams. I think Spain is super strong. It's a young, hungry team that has just been killing it in the lead up to the World Cup. They are the reigning Euro champions. And they have this super young guy, 18 years old, Lamin Yamal, who is just extraordinary. People are always comparing him to Masi and saying he's like the next big king of soccer.

8:48So I would definitely be looking out for them. France always has an extraordinary team and they play so cohesively. You can take out one player and just put in another one and the machine keeps working. And they have the superstar Kylian Mbappe, the captain of the team. And he's just someone to look for with with for beautiful soccer, you know. Here's Mbappé. Oh, what a finish that is from Kylian Mbappé. And it seems like those opportunities for beautiful soccer are growing, right? The World Cup is getting bigger. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very much literally so. I mean, as you mentioned earlier, like in the past, the tournament was limited to 32 teams.

9:34And now this is for the first time it's expanding to 48 teams, which means that we're getting some fresh faces in here. I mean, among countries that are showing up this time, there are a handful who have never played in the World Cup before. That includes Uzbekistan, Curaçao, Cabo Verde and Jordan. And then there's also national teams that have played in the World Cup before, but don't show up very often. They haven't played in decades. And that includes Scotland and Iraq, which I know are two fan bases that are super fired up about this. And these are countries that soccer is like really part of the fabric of the culture, you know, and so to be able to make it into the cup, that's going to be wild.

10:16The fandom is going to be pretty wild. And what's up with the music this year? Because I'm seeing Shakira is involved again. I also saw some Muppets and stuff like that, but I don't know if they're singing. And I think it's a wide range of people. But I think we all remember Shakira had that Waka Waka song from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

10:45That song was a colossal hit worldwide, which does make me think about the power of this particular stage. But also, like, how in the world is Shakira going to, like, top that this time around? I don't know if it's going to top that, but it really does seem like FIFA has Shakira on speed dial. It is true. Waka Waka really resonated with people. It was a huge hit. And, you know, who knows if this new song is going to do that. But FIFA is pulling out all the stops. They're having a halftime show for the first time. It's the first time there will be a halftime show in a World Cup. And it has been a little bit polarizing between traditional fans who say, you know, this is like the NFLization, the Americanization of the sport, and newer fans who are really excited about a halftime show.

11:40I think that it's important to note that the pace of soccer, the pace of football is really different from the pace of American football. And so it's like a really interesting commentary, like on how FIFA is packaging this World Cup to really appeal to an American audience. OK, so it sounds like this is going to be an interesting new experiment. We'll see how it plays out when we come back. A look at some of the political forces shaping this year's World Cup. Stay with us.

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12:58Kids home, trips to plan, routines flipped upside down. It's easy to slip into survival mode, just trying to get through it. Then suddenly, it's over. And you're wishing you enjoyed the days just a little bit more. Therapy can help you slow down and actually be present for the moments that matter. With BetterHelp, you can connect with a licensed therapist from anywhere on your schedule. Don't just survive the summer. Thrive. Visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR. We're back with the Sunday story. I'm talking about the World Cup with NPR's Jasmine Garst and Becky Sullivan. So the timing of this World Cup is a little problematic in terms of it's happening as the Trump administration is doing this very robust crackdown on immigrants.

13:48And part of that crackdown is new scrutiny for people seeking tourist visas. So are there indications that people from abroad aren't getting their visas or are facing delays to come see the games? Well, this has been an issue that has been, you know, months, even years in the making at this point. You know, like we were talking about this last year when the Trump administration had to roll out sort of an expedited visa process for people who are verified World Cup ticket holders. There's been a few other updates like that along the way because the Trump administration obviously has tighter policies around immigration.

14:25They have travel bans in place from a number of countries around the world, including several that are participating in the World Cup, whether that is Iran, whether that's Haiti, whether that's a partial ban on travelers from countries like Senegal. All three of these are teams participating in the World Cup. And then even for countries where there aren't such restrictions on visitors, the visa wait times, the processing times at embassies and consulates around the world are months long in some cases. And so the Trump administration has been working with FIFA on this for verified ticket holders.

14:58There were also a lot of questions around some of the teams from some of these places. Like there was just this hiccup in the last week or two with the South African team. They had to leave an assistant coach behind initially after there were some issues securing their travel visas. That kind of thing is exactly what people were sort of expecting with this. And then not to mention, obviously, everything about the Iran team. Well, zooming in on Iran, they've got a team in the tournament. Are any Iranian fans at all allowed into the U.S.? Well, traveling from Iran, no. But obviously there's a huge Iranian diaspora in the United States, in North America, and specifically in the United States, and even more specifically in Los Angeles, which is where Iran is scheduled to play two of their group stage games.

15:50I mean, Iran was supposed to be like have their base camp be in the United States, like the team. And obviously with everything that was going on, there were questions about whether they would even come to participate in the tournament at all. after the Trump administration working with Israel started a conflict earlier this year in Iran. So, you know, the team is coming. They are participating in the tournament. None of that sort of worries about whether they would have to pull out. None of that came to pass, but they are instead going to be base camp in Mexico. They're going to fly into the U.S.

16:23just for games and leave immediately. That's definitely something that team is going to have to deal with, given that, you know, in this situation like the United States, they're based in Irvine, which is near LA. So they have two of their own group stage games in LA. They get to be based nearby. They don't have to have any significant travel time at all. So obviously that's a setback for Iran's team, which is actually quite good and has a really good chance of making it out of the group stage if they're able to perform well. So that's definitely something to be keeping an eye on for sure. For the U.S., this is a big cultural moment where you have many diverse communities around the country who are going to be tuned into this.

17:03And this is something, Jasmine, that you've been reporting on. Talk to me about some of these communities that are really excited and why this is such a big deal for them. Well, you know, I think we were just talking about visas and the Trump administration's policy towards travel to the U.S. and immigration, I think one of the big concerns that many advocates and, frankly, communities have is ICE presence and ICE raids at and around the stadiums, right? Soccer is huge in immigrant communities across the U.S., and these are communities that have been targeted extensively in a historic way. Really, we're talking about unprecedented numbers throughout the last year or so.

17:50So this has been a big concern. DHS has said it will have presence at games in the same way that it would have presence at any international event being held in the U.S. There have been indications that there won't be ice raids at the events. Having said that, I think, you know, for the last year and a half or so, there's already been this climate has been created, right, around immigrant communities being quite afraid to do basic things like going to school or going to work. And so that really leaves sporting events off the table for a lot of people. So I think the question of immigration and immigrants in America and what kind of access they might have to a sporting event like this is going to be a big one for coverage, for sure.

18:43And I feel like we can't have a conversation about the World Cup without at least mentioning the organization behind it all, FIFA. FIFA has been facing huge criticism around ticket sales. They're so expensive. Like, where has that landed? Yeah, I mean, it hasn't landed yet. Like, it's still going. I mean, I think the ticket price thing is going to continue to be a story right up until every game. But yeah, I mean, FIFA, they look, this is an organization that is here to make money. They're here to make as much money as they can off of this event. And so what they've been doing is they're tapping into a trend that we're seeing across all sorts of things, whether that's ticket prices for the Taylor Swift Eras 2 or whether that's ticket prices for New York Knicks courtside seats in the NBA finals, the World Cup.

19:35They are just trying to cash in as much as they can. So, yeah, the tickets have been extremely expensive, especially for sort of marquee games like those that the host countries are playing. in like I was with the U.S. men's team last week and the players were talking about how the tickets are so expensive that they can't even afford to send you know all of the friends and family who have asked them if they can come to the games they can't afford them all because the tickets are like a thousand dollars fifteen hundred dollars and even professional soccer players are like I don't know if I can afford a ton of these those big highlight games with the U.S.

20:10playing like those ones might not get too much cheaper but for some of the more accessible group stage games, I think those will come back to earth. And, you know, this has really been one of the big critiques of how FIFA has handled this. The key criticism here is that soccer is a sport that is so democratic. You know, if you have something shaped sort of like a ball, you can play a soccer game and people do. And I think so many communities that participate are effectively being kept out of it, kept out of this game and of this cup. And I think that's one of the big critiques, right? That it's all good and well to have a theme song about all of us together, but really who can afford to be all of us together with those prices?

20:59Well, finally, what are you two most excited about in this tournament? Like, what are the matches that you're really looking forward to? I mean, I'm from Argentina originally, so I would be so excited to see the classic Clash of Titans, Argentina-Brazil, Argentina-England. I'm also like, I'm just super excited about teams that in the last Cup were kind of underdogs that did really well. Like, I'm excited to see Morocco play. Yeah, I'm excited to just see the United States gets so activated for this thing. I've covered a couple Olympics now, and I think there can be a similar story where there's a lot of anxiety before the event happens.

21:46But I think when the time actually arrives and these games actually happen in these cities all across not just the United States, but Canada and Mexico too, I think it's going to be a really amazing thing for a lot of our cities to experience this, just like influx of visitors. It's going to be really thrilling. Like I'm here in Kansas City right now. the Argentinian national team touchdown here in KC just the other day, last week and that's already gotten people excited. I think that kind of experience, we're going to have a lot of memories made here in the United States over the next month or two and I think that's going to be a really cool experience for a lot of people.

22:27Becky and Jasmine, thank you for taking the time to break down this year's tournament and And now that you've laid it all out, I'm rooting for the fans. You know, I'm rooting for the people that are into it and that this would be just a great time for all, you know. And let yourself get swept up in it, too, Aisha. I know you said you're not a soccer fan, but just try that hat on this summer and I think you're going to have a good time with it. Okay. All right. You never know. That was NPR's Becky Sullivan and Jasmine Garst. Thank you so much. Really appreciate your reporting. You're welcome. Thank you.

23:11You can find more of NPR's coverage of the World Cup at npr.org slash World Cup. This episode of The Sunday Story was produced by Andrew Mambo. It was edited by Jenny Schmidt and Liana Simstrom. Special thanks to Jennifer Portman, Russell Lewis, and Ben Rappaport. The engineer of this episode was Jimmy Keighley. The Sunday Story team also includes Justine Yan. Irene Noguchi is our executive producer. I'm Aisha Roscoe. Up first, we'll be back tomorrow with all the news you need to start your week. Until then, have a great rest of your weekend.

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