Henry Winter’s World Cup Diary, Day 24
Kansas City
The guy in the Weston McKennie shirt let out a loud boo, there were a few yelps of frustration around the tables, and the man in the USA 94 “I was there” shirt finished his beer and got up to go. As the final whistle sounded on USMNT’s World Cup dream with an emphatic defeat to Belgium in Seattle, the locals in the Kansas City bar got on with their lives. Defeat didn’t seem to hurt too badly.
Flying back from a rainy Mexico City to a hot, humid KC via change and brief acclimatisation in Dallas it felt like going into a different football world. Mexico is obsessed with football. Their loss to England was felt deeply by the Mexican people, right down into their soul, into the very marrow of their bones. A quick glance through just a few rows in one stand near where England celebrated brought images of a woman on her haunches in tears, another bereft fan being consoled and one fan just sitting there as if transfixed by the trauma of another failed World Cup campaign.
These people love football and this latest loss was devastating. Their wonderful sportsmanship in defeat, partying with the England fans as seen widely on social media, did not mask their heartache. Mexicans care desperately about El Tri.
The following night, back in my KC bar, the place emptied quickly at the confirmation of the US defeat. It was either it didn’t matter to them as much as the Mexicans or they simply didn’t want to be associated with the embarrassment. There was no inquest, just disappearing into the night. Maybe all the demeaning chaos of the Folarin Balogun reprieve fiasco tempered their enjoyment. This was just one snapshot of the response to defeat. It may have stung more elsewhere. But the US is still not yet an elite soccer country.
On the field, USMNT certainly looked like they are still learning the game. Shapeless in Seattle. Their defending was wretched and naïve against Belgium, a good team but hardly great. Mistake after mistake, poor concentration, slow reactions, terrible decision-making, keeper gong walkabout. “We need to learn,” Mauricio Pochettino said. His team briefly looked a real team earlier in the tournament, kicking off with wins over Paraguay and Australia. But against more significant opposition, the US couldn’t handle the Belgian press or the pressure. They are still a developing nation. MLS is still growing, the national team needs better talent ID, and during an evening out with a couple of people who work in the sport in the United States, they readily agreed that something has to be done about making coaching more accessible to more people, and less affluent communities. One of those in our group reflected that he pays $5,000 a year for his daughter’s coaching and club affiliation. Until this is subsidised, and the talent stream is broadened and deepened, the US will remain amongst the also-rans.
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Mexico City
It’s amazing the people you meet on the England beat. Waiting at the gate for the flight to Dallas and on to Kansas City, I met Chris Riggott, the former Derby County and Middlesbrough centre-back (where he partnered Gareth Southgate). He played 10 seasons in the Premier League and, even at 45, looks fit enough still to be involved. He settled in Nevada in 2013 and is now director of MLS NEXT at Albion SC Las Vegas, working on developing the next generation of American talent. Also at the cluster of gates was Gareth Ainsworth, the Gillingham coach back in pre-season training. He got a ticket behind the goal where England players celebrated and was still buzzing over the Azteca experience. I also encountered a typically lively David Bentley, scorer of the first goal at the new Wembley.
We chatted and afterwards a colleague kindly reminded me of a piece I wrote saying Sven-Goran Eriksson should build around David Bentley not David Beckham. Fortunately, Sven didn’t listen. Unfortunately, the internet never forgets.
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Talking of Sven, I was leaving the media shuttle bus back from Azteca and passed a celebrated Swedish reporter in the aisle. She was tapping out her despatch from Mexico City so I didn’t want to disturb her train – or carriage – of thought on England’s progress under Thomas Tuchel. “It all started with Sven,” I said as I passed. Eriksson’s legacy with England – three quarter-finals – has always been disputed. But one thing he always campaigned over, and took the clubs on over, was the need for a winter break. It is surely no coincidence that England’s best two players out here, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, both compete in leagues with a greater understanding of player welfare and workload and have a winter break.
Catch up on the rest of Henry Winter’s World Cup Diary here
