No kings, few fans: USA's year of World Cups gets off to a flat start
Before we begin, two quick notes: Jonathan Wilson is on vacation for the next few weeks, so we'll have a series of guest writers on the newsletter, beginning this week with Leander Schaerlaeckens. Alongside that change, we're modifying the schedule to better line up with the Club World Cup and Gold Cup as they take over the United States. Next week's edition of the newsletter will land on Friday 27 June, and will recap the group stage of the Club World Cup. From then on, we'll be in your inbox on Monday as usual. Jonathan will return on 14 July.
That the two events should coincide was so perfect as to almost feel heavy-handed. Donald Trump's comically underattended military parade lurched through Washington DC at the exact same time on Saturday as the overwrought opening ceremony unspooled for Fifa's beleaguered Club World Cup, in a definitely-not-full Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Advertisement
Trump's jingoistic birthday bust contrasted painfully with the multimillion-strong turnout at the 'No Kings' anti-Trump rallies that gathered all over the country. The Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, meanwhile – or 'Johnny', as Trump pronounces the name of one of his favorite allies in the sports world – had promised the opening match of the swollen tournament he forced down the soccer world's throat would be sold out. Instead, attendance between Inter Miami and Al Ahly, a fitting 0-0 stalemate, was announced at a still-better-than-expected 60,927 in the 64,767-seat venue.
Related: Messi drink launch affirms Spanish as new lingua franca at Club World Cup | Barney Ronay
Mind you, that was after ticket prices had reportedly been cut from $349 to just $4.
And so began not only the expanded Club World Cup but the Concacaf Gold Cup as well, kicking off a 13-month period, culminating in the 2026 World Cup final, during which organizers hope the United States will take a star turn as a soccer destination, elevate the sport and enrich all those involved.
Advertisement
For all the buildup, and despite the bought-and-paid-for enthusiasm from the Dazn studio analysts hyping up the Club World Cup, the entire spectacle felt a bit flat, and about as impactful as the omnipresent advertising for Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund on the hoardings surrounding the field at both tournaments.
On the Big Soccer Event Excitement Dial that reads 'meh' at one end and '2022 World Cup final' at the other, the needle never crossed beyond the halfway point. Attendances reflected as much.
On Sunday, the United States men's national team dominated an utterly hopeless Trinidad and Tobago in their Gold Cup opener, 5-0, reconstituting a modicum of momentum at long last following a dispiriting stretch of losses for Mauricio Pochettino's men. But a mere 12,610 had turned up to the 18,000-seat PayPal Park in San Jose.
More remarkably still, Mexico did not pack out SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Saturday, even though the Los Angeles area is probably El Tri's biggest market other than Mexico City. Just 54,309 of the 70,240 seats were occupied as Mexico edged past Gold Cup debutants Dominican Republic 3-2.
Advertisement
None of the other Club World Cup games of the opening weekend sold out either. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena drew plenty but was not full for the most appealing match of the slate, European champions Paris Saint-Germain's 4-0 rinsing of 10-man Atlético Madrid. Only just over half of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford filled in for Palmeiras v Porto, another scoreless affair. Bayern Munich's 10-0 destruction of Auckland City – because it was apparently important to establish whether the champions of Oceania belonged on the same field as the 34-time German champions – couldn't even fill up a 26,000-seat Major League Soccer venue in Cincinnati. Fans, however, did score an 11th goal, of a sort, with a banner marking the 10th anniversary of the Baur au Lac raid that swept up a generation of corrupt Fifa officials. 'World football is more poorly governed than before!' it proclaimed. 'Smash FIFA!' Sunday's nightcap between Botafogo and the Seattle Sounders didn't sell out either, with an official attendance of 31,151 in 68,740-seat Lumen Field, even though the Sounders were playing at home (though that figure is in line with the team's usual average).
Related: Malik Tillman double leads US to 5-0 rout of Trinidad and Tobago in Gold Cup opener
And then there was the sorry sight of the Gold Cup double-header: Saudi Arabia v Haiti and Costa Rica v Suriname in San Diego, which appeared to have about as many attendees as a last-minute wedding for a couple nobody is confident will last through the honeymoon.
It isn't like the two tournaments cannibalized one another's attendance. After all, there was hardly any overlap in the markets where matches were held last weekend – other than PSG v Atleti and Mexico v Dominican Republic, both played in the Los Angeles area.
Advertisement
Certainly, the shocking prices Fifa initially demanded for the Club World Cup did not help, even if the 'dynamic pricing model' ensured that they tumbled rapidly in the last few weeks. Concacaf, likewise, is notorious for charging sky-high prices, even if those prices leave stadiums half-empty. That's hardly looking like it will change. When US Soccer submitted its bid book with Mexico and Canada for the World Cup more than eight years ago, it projected an average ticket price of $305 for the group stage.
Yet there was fun to be salvaged from the proceedings. The USMNT's big win was satisfying, for US fans at least, and the Dominican Republic's challenge of mighty Mexico was an uncut bit of fun.
Al Ahly ran roughshod over Miami for much of the first half but somehow failed to find the net with a disallowed goal and a missed penalty in a scintillating 45 minutes marked by Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari's remarkable saves. In the second half, Lionel Messi stirred himself to bedevil the Egyptian side with a vintage display. Yet Messi hit the crossbar with a long, late, swerving shot and Al Ahly made a series of remarkable goalline saves to preserve the draw.
These were footballing fireworks. And that's the reason these myriad money-grabs tend to work out just fine for their perpetrators – soccer, in the end, is still sublimely soccer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
30 minutes ago
- Axios
Scoop: U.S. tells allies it won't join war unless Iran targets Americans
The Trump administration has told several Middle Eastern allies it doesn't plan to get actively involved in the war between Israel and Iran unless Iran targets Americans, two sources from countries that received that U.S. message tell Axios. The big picture: The U.S. has helped Israel intercept missiles, but made clear Israel is acting alone in attacking Iran. The U.S. message is that if Iran attacks Americans in response, it will be crossing a red line. The intrigue: The U.S. sent a similar message to the same countries about an hour between Israel launched the war last Thursday, telling them the U.S. would not participate. In both cases, the U.S. seemed to expect the countries to pass that message to Iran to discourage any retaliation against U.S. forces or interests in the region. The White House didn't respond to a request for comment. Between the lines: While Iranian leaders have accused the U.S. of complicity in Israel's war effort, and threatened for weeks to respond to any Israeli attack by targeting U.S. bases in the region, no such attacks have taken place. "The Iranians are very careful so far not to do anything that can push the U.S. to get involved," an Arab diplomat with direct knowledge of the thinking in Tehran said. Friction point: Israel has asked the Trump administration to join the war in order to eliminate Iran's nuclear program. A U.S. official told Axios on Saturday that the Trump administration was not actively considering it. U.S. officials also claimed that over the weekend, Israel had an operational window to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, but President Trump made clear to Israel that he opposed that step. A U.S. official said that was because the Iranians haven't killed Americans — a statement Israeli officials saw as a threat to Iran that if Americans are targeted, the Trump administration could support killing Khamenei. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News on Monday that killing Khamenei would "end the war," and was still a possibility. State of play: Trump demurred Monday when asked whether the U.S. could join the war. But while the U.S. is stating in public and in private that it's not getting involved, the U.S. military is taking steps to prepare for such a contingency. The Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group is moving to the Middle East, and 28 strategic refueling planes left the U.S. on Sunday for the region. Netanyahu said in a press conference on Monday that he speaks to Trump almost every day, including on Sunday. He said he appreciates U.S. assistance in defeating Iranian attacks but stressed that President Trump will do what he thinks is best for America. "We will welcome any U.S. contribution," he said. In the ABC interview, Netanyahu said that Trump and the American people understand the need to "take a stand against evil." He said: "Look, I understand 'America First.' I don't understand 'America Dead.' That's what these people want." What to watch: Trump said on Monday during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the G7 summit that the Iranians want to talk to the U.S. about the situation. "They should have done that before. They had 60 days and on the 61st day I said, 'We don't have a deal.' Iran is not winning this war they should talk immediately before it is too late," Trump said. An Arab diplomat said the Iranians have communicated to the U.S. that they will be willing to discuss a ceasefire and resume nuclear talks after they conclude their retaliation and after Israel stops its strikes.
San Francisco Chronicle
30 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
NAACP won't invite Trump to its national convention. He will be 1st president excluded in 116 years
The NAACP announced Monday the group will not invite President Donald Trump to its national convention next month in Charlotte, North Carolina, the first time the prominent civil rights organization has opted to exclude a sitting president in its 116-year history. NAACP President Derrick Johnson announced the move at an afternoon press conference, accusing Trump of working against its mission. 'This has nothing to do with political party,' Johnson said in a statement. 'Our mission is to advance civil rights, and the current president has made clear that his mission is to eliminate civil rights.' A message to the White House seeking comment was not immediately returned. In recent months, the NAACP has filed multiple lawsuits against Trump. In April, for example, the group sued to stop the Department of Education from withholding federal money for schools that did not end diversity, equity and inclusion programs, arguing the department was prohibiting legal efforts to provide equal opportunity to Black students. NAACP officials noted that the decision was weighty in that the organization had long invited presidents with whom it disagreed. Notably, Republican President George W. Bush addressed the group's convention in July 2006, after months of criticism for his administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which had a disproportionate impact on Black residents in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region. —————————————— Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Chris Megerian contributed from Washington.
Axios
30 minutes ago
- Axios
California could get hit hardest by Trump's NASA budget cuts
NASA spends an average of $3 billion annually in California on scientific missions — the highest of any state, per data from The Planetary Society, a pro-space nonprofit. Why it matters: NASA's science efforts bear the brunt of cuts to the agency in the Trump administration's proposed budget, which would slash science funding by nearly 50% to $3.9 billion. State of play: Science represents roughly 30% of NASA's budget, supporting missions like space telescopes, robotic probes and satellites that gather data about Earth's changing climate. While not always as headline-grabbing as human spaceflight, NASA's science activity has greatly enhanced our scientific understanding of both Earth and our celestial neighborhood. Threat level: Trump's proposed cuts could lead to 13,975 job losses, $1.4 billion less in science spending for California and $3.9 billion of lost economic activity. By the numbers: NASA supported 33,600 jobs in California and generated $8.3 billion per year in economic output between fiscal years 2022-2024, per a recent report. Zoom in: Missions on the chopping block include the Mars Sample Return, an ambitious joint American-European plan to collect Martian soil samples and bring them to Earth for further study. Nearly 20 active science missions would be canceled in total, representing more than $12 billion in sunk taxpayer costs, per the Planetary Society. Zoom out: Besides California, Maryland ($2 billion) and Texas ($614 million) saw the most average annual NASA science spending across fiscal 2022-24, the data shows. The big picture: Trump's proposed NASA cuts fit into a broader pattern of pulling resources away from scientific endeavors and data collection, especially involving climate change.
