The celebrations throughout Argentina this week marked the close of the 22nd World Cup tournament. It was exhilirating, dramatic, hearbreaking, controversial and produced multitudes of stories within stories. I'm already experiencing withdrawal. Some final thoughts:
Was it the best World Cup final ever? Hell, yes. It was certainly the best final in my lifetime and I've watched every World Cup final game since 1986. One reason it's been so difficult convincing my fellow Americans that soccer isn't the boring game they think it is, is that when they finally do tune in and watch a game as hyped as a World Cup final, the game turns out to be snoozer. Yes, in prior tournaments there have been some very close final games, but they generally haven't been good games. We've seen controversial games decided on penalty kicks (1990, 1994, 2006) and some tighty played 1-0 victories after extra time (2010, 2014) but none had the combination of back-and-forth drama, quality of play, and scoring that we saw on Sunday. And yes, while soccer is a team sport, we also witnessed the world's two best players -- King Messi and his heir apparent, Mbappe -- playing their best, dueling it out, on the worlds biggest stage. It was a rare and special thing to behold.
Is Messi the GOAT? For my money, yes. There's never been a player like him. But so what? The argument over who is the greatest of all time (in all sports) is getting tired. It's a fine argument to have in a bar or at a barbershop, but it makes for lazy sports journalism. And why do we engage in this futile exerecise of comparing players of different positions and eras? We all know that it comes down to a subjective test of the eye and heart, rather than statisitics and trophies. Why have we become so obsessed with this? Can't we just enjoy what Messi, Mbappe, Pele, Maradona, Zidane, Zlatan, Ronaldo and Ronaldo have given to the sport? It's magic. Just enjoy.
Has the U.S. shown progress? On the pitch, definitely. There were some misteps and it's not clear that Gregg Berhalter is the answer as manager, but this was a young team that outplayed England and will only get better. And while they were outclassed by Netherlands (who seemed to capitalize on every mistake), the U.S. was in the game. They clearly belonged. They will definitely need better finishing, but that's true of most teams.
But where the U.S. has not shown progress is in the broadcast booth. Nearly everything about Fox Sports telecast was dreadful. Someone needs to tell John Strong and Stu Holden that they are not on the radio -- they don't need to fill every second of silence with blather, especially when they have so little to say. Stop trying to create drama -- let the game do it for you. Stop telling me what I just saw. And what they have to say is mosty banal. They offer none of the poetry of Peter Drury and none of the passion of Andre Cantor. If there was an option for turning off the broadcast and just listening to the crowd, I'd take that.
Off the Field? Here the World Cup was a disaster. The mere fact that Qatar was allowed to host is itself a scandal and affirms what we already know -- FIFA is about money first, second and always. But the real disappointment was how, in the face of such signifcant human rights concerns, free speech concerns, the death of hundreds of migrant workers, and the oppression of women, minorities, and LGBT individuals in Qatar, pretty much everyone -- the players, coaches, soccer federations and FOX Sports -- was silent. Everyone played along. Yes, there was a nice gesture from the German team, but it amounted to barely a blip. I was hoping that Messi or Mbappe or one of the penalty kick takers might tear off their jersey to reveal a rainbow flag --- not exactly the stuff of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, but at least it would be something. When the President of FIFA issued a bizarre statement condmening as hypocrites those who would "politicize" the World Cup by protesting, he should have be called out for his bulllshit. After all, when FIFA made the decision to give its business to a monarchy that functions as a theocracy, following Sharia and discriminating against women and LGBT individuals, a political choice was made by FIFA. Hypocrites, indeed.
Some Love for Croatia: Understandably, Morocco got more attention. Morocco knocked off Spain and Portugal, posed a real challenge to the traditional powers and became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals. (And, as a Muslim nation, they became the favorites of the local supporters who watched Qatar and Saudi Arabia bounced out early). But consider, for a moment, what Croatia has achieved. Croatia is a nation of fewer than 4 million people. More people live in Okahoma than in Croatia. But Croatia has made it to the knockout stages in each of the last 4 major tournaments - they were runners up in 2018 and finished in 3rd place in 2022. Luka Modric is a marvel. Like Messi, he doesn't really look like a professional athelte -- his build is so slight, he looks frail. But his technical ability and his pinpoint passing is second to none. He's been one of the best players of his generation.
We look forward to doing it all again in 2026 in North America.
