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ATLANTA — The Americans weren’t ever going to let the opportunity pass. Football is steeped in tradition, everywhere but here. Carte blanche.

Soccer is gaining in popularity by the second in the United States. And with pride in one’s home inescapable in the land of the free, the opportunity to educate the world in the American way was always going to be impossible to resist.

Whether the Americanisation of the World Cup is intentional or not, it is inescapable.

American national anthem, no matter who is playing

It does not quite leave as sour a taste as the Saudi Arabia national anthem being played out at Wembley during the boxing, but when we are asked to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner” an hour before kick-off, often to a near-empty stadium, we are simply left asking “why”?

What place does the US anthem have ahead of an encounter between two teams from the other side of the world?

The audacity of the stadium announcers to instruct people to stand for it only adds to the impudence of it all. God bless America.

Those blasted hydration breaks

Even the Canadians booed. Hydration breaks are perhaps understandable in 35-degree heat, but in air-conditioned stadiums with the roof closed?

What they cram into those three minutes tells you all you need to know about the real motives. Like a sped-up Super Bowl half-time show, twice per game.

The flow of the match is the real loser in all of this. Any team that is on top immediately has the momentum sapped out of them when forced to stop for three minutes – which is kind of what any game plan contrives to conjure in the first place.

Make. Some. Noise and countdown to kick-off

We are one step away from kiss-cam stealing the show. Perhaps the Premier League could benefit from competitions to measure the noise generated by supporters of each team? Or would riots ensue? How partisan would the judges be?

Panning to the crowd in American sport and urging spectators to dance works – some good old family fun. When England fans were picked out in Boston, their time in the spotlight was short-lived, given their choice of gesture.

One Americanism that does make you wince are those countdowns to kick-off, like we are bringing in the New Year around Sydney Harbour. Rather than any fireworks being let off, the whole spectacle doesn’t work when upon the countdown climax, Declan Rice passes the ball all the way back to the goalkeeper.

Picking out stars of other sports mid-match

Imagine sitting in Old Trafford and Luke Littler appears on the big screen, looking rather uncomfortable as he waves for a period of time longer than he ever has had to before, while the crowd goes wilder than at any other point in the match.

Over here, the stadium screens regularly pick out NFL or NBA stars, which startles us foreign reporters, given we often have no idea who they are.

Can’t they be left to watch the greatest sporting spectacle on earth in peace?

Jingoistic stadium announcers

Stadium announcers here all sound exactly like Michael Buffer, without the hyperbole. Do they all go to the same language school and yodel until they can opine Let’s Get Ready to Rumble in that unmistakable chutzpah?

And you just know they have paid very little attention to the things that really matter, like getting players’ names right.

Let’s hope Noni Madueke was not listening to his starting berth being revealed for England’s opener, the proudest moment of his career, when the AT&T Stadium compere got into all kinds of trouble.

Fans sitting together a risky game?

I know Netherlands versus Japan is hardly Millwall against West Ham, but have Fifa become too American and completely forgotten about any form of segregation between supporters?

One set of supporters sit at one end and the others opposite.

Imagine if England and Russian supporters had been seated side by side in Marseille? And does it not just look better – this is your end and that ours? This is soccer, people.

Everything is massive

It is just so unnecessary. We know size matters in America more than anything, with football supporters not left out of their penchant for the gargantuan.

Big screens in stadiums are cinema size and tempt you into gazing lovingly at them rather than the pitch down below. Bars on concourses have mini-stadium seating next to them. Parking lots stretch further than the eye can see.

The inspiration behind the AT&T Stadium wasn’t the Maracana or the Nou Camp, but the Pyramids. The biggest structure Americans could think of, of course.

Read more

• Kevin Garside: The World Cup has exposed all of Thomas Tuchel’s flaws
• Daniel Storey: German football is a bin fire – only one man can save them

Popcorn smell overwhelms

In Spain, it’s pipas and marijuana. In Germany it’s wheat beer. In the US, it’s popcorn.

The smell of World Cup stadiums over here evokes memories of family trips to Disney World, where any enclosed space reeked of popcorn.

The hot food prices over here are so eyewatering you can’t blame the locals for filling up on a cinema’s staple snack. Is there a smell more American than that?

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Hey, maybe losing in the most painful way imaginable was a blessing in disguise? Had Germany scraped through and been beaten by France in the last-16, the DFB may have been able to persuade themselves that the team was mere fractions away from being competitive.

Perhaps they might even have claimed that the scent of progress could be detected in the wind. After two group-stage eliminations at World Cups, at least we won a tie here. And we only lost to Spain in extra-time two years ago, guys. Probably that’s what Jonathan Tah was thinking as he hoofed his penalty back over the Atlantic Ocean.

Germany cannot escape their own reflection now. The only thing worse than not playing knockout matches at World Cups is playing them as heavy favourites and being humiliated. And they lost on penalties at a World Cup for the first time too, so the stereotyped jokes at the expense of others don’t even work anymore.

This is a national emergency for the DFB. Their team will go at least 16 years without ranking in the top 16 of any World Cup tournament. Once they were giants, then champions, then contenders and now has-beens and when-will-they-be-agains. The list of nations to win a knockout tie since them: Canada, Russia, Sweden, Morocco, Croatia.

When Germany hit their nadir at Euro 2000, it prompted a systemic overhaul of the production line of technical footballers and of the coaching pathways that allowed the talent to flourish. That is not needed now. The under-21 group is strong. This is not the end of Germany’s academy revolution.

In a way, that makes it worse. In 2000 there was a shopping list; blueprints had been created and timeframes agreed. Then there was things to do and smiling, eager faces to do them. What about when it’s just an uninspiring team doing uninspiring things?

This is now an environment where the shine of youth is dimmed before it can make the room itself brighter. Watch Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz during this tournament and try to disagree.

At the same time, Germany are between eras. Manuel Neuer is 40 and shouldn’t have been here at all; it was a dim mistake from Julian Nagelsmann. Antonio Rudiger is 33, Joshua Kimmich 31 and Leroy Sane 30. Those four outfielders could make the next European Championship at a push, but is the longer-term plan not the right one now?

Watching Germany on Monday evening – and I’ll happily concede that this brings me some degree of pleasure to write – reminded me of England against Iceland at Euro 2016. The older players look weary. The younger players look overawed. The rest just look wholly beaten up by the experience itself, as if ignominy has become fated. Germany are in their England 2006-2016 age here.

Nagelsmann will surely be sacked – how can he not be and the DFB still call this a culture of excellence? Still just 38, his career is at a crossroads but he is not the only one who may feel better away from this bin fire rather than being burned by it. There’s a guy at Barcelona who could probably offer some thoughts on that.

On the Road USA

Join Daniel Storey on his 7,200-mile odyssey across the US to tell the stories of a World Cup like no other.

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The obvious answer is Jurgen Klopp, who has spent this tournament offering punditry that often strayed – understandably – into what he might do differently as Germany head coach. It makes sense. Again like England in 2016, German players have forgotten what enjoying playing for your country is like. The pressure is too much. The punishment for losing has more mental real estate than the reward for winning.

Klopp is also no guarantee. You cannot see off the long-term manager, the Bayern Munich and Barcelona supercoach and the nation’s next big thing and expect certainty. That is the true price of repeated failure: the shape of your reputation shifts and warps against you.

Germany are not what you remember, merely ghosts of glorious history. The muscle memory of winning is no more. Muller, Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Kroos, Neuer – the last one fell upon his sword in Foxborough and there are few male heirs to continue the bloodline. Es tut mir leid – you’re just not special anymore.

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Thomas Tuchel is perched upon a set of scales, the balance edging up or down depending on the competence of his England team.

Right now he appears no more secure in the minds of the supporters than his predecessor Gareth Southgate. The mess surrounding some of his selections, particularly at full-back, suggest he may have slipped below the levels of supporter confidence enjoyed by Southgate, which is a worry since he was appointed as the anti-Gareth.

The authority he brought to the piece, the notion of Tuchel as an elite technician, the authoritative coach shaped by superior continental ideas, survives by the narrowest of margins and could be erased completely should the Democratic Republic of Congo exhibit the same athleticism and vigour in the round of 32 as their African neighbours Ghana did in the group stage.

The African resurgence may have been facilitated to an extent by the bloated 48-team format. Nevertheless, nine teams progressing to the last 32 suggests the continent’s structural and organisational impediments are no longer holding back its talent. And most feel this tie is anything but straightforward.

Tuchel’s selections have exposed the flaws to which, ultimately, all coaches are vulnerable; prejudice, favouritism, chemistry, the impulses that complicate selections. We convince ourselves that the decisions we make are value free, in the best interests of the group, but in reality Tuchel is responding subjectively in choosing one player above another.

This would account for the inclusion of Reece James at right-back, a footballer made of balsa, at the expense of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who offsets questionable defence with next-level distribution. The selection of Tino Livramento, another with a delicate frame, compounded the James mistake.

Ironically, the one specialist right-back remaining, Djed Spence, was deployed by Tuchel at left-back against Ghana to answer the incomplete performance of Nico O’Reilly against Croatia. This made the exclusion of Lewis Hall and Luke Shaw even harder to comprehend and emulated Southgate’s puzzling preference for Kieran Tripper at left-back, which compromised England’s attacking threat down the left without necessarily enhancing defence.

The injury to Jarell Quansah was plain unlucky, but its significance has been magnified by Tuchel’s indifference to Alexander-Arnold and infatuation with James. Favouritism has clearly impacted the middle of the park in a similar way following injury to Declan Rice.

Jordan Henderson is the ultimate luxury item, included more as a bonding agent than a front-rank midfielder. Rice’s creaking hamstring forced the selection of Jude Bellingham in the deeper No 8 role, a happy dose of serendipity via which Tuchel at least established his most effective position and camouflaged the poverty of output on the wings.

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• Daniel Storey: I paid £12 for a disgusting World Cup stadium hot dog – and had a food epiphany

Surveys of fan opinion reveal a growing disconnection between Tuchel’s world view and theirs. The James fiasco is uppermost, revealing universal disbelief that Alexander-Arnold is not there. The calls for Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Jarrod Bowen are also growing following the flat contributions of a one-dimensional Anthony Gordon, inconsistent Marcus Rashford and erratic Noni Madueke.

And few can fathom Ivan Toney’s inclusion among the cohort of strikers. Being good at penalties nowhere near justifies it in the eyes of the majority.

None of this will matter should Tuchel be the coach shaking the presidential hands of Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino on 19 July. If not, the hit to his reputation could be terminal, or at least a tax he must pay for the remainder of his career.

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KANSAS CITY — The hot dog is fairly disgusting by any measure other than football stadium hot dogs, where it ranks medium to low. There is some colour on the sausage, but biting into it releases an escape of boiling water that frankly tests my gag reflex. The bun, which three seconds ago was dry verging on very dry, is now soggy in large patches. 

It’s the size that really makes me laugh. In English stadiums the rollover hotdog has become a thing (rough translation: long frankfurter in a slightly pappy baguette), but this is a “Junior”, aka the rollover’s baby cousin. The entire thing is less than double the length of the small sauce sachet provided. It’s a three-biter, to use a phrase that I’ll probably leave on the shelf in future.

The price is a joke too, even if I sort of knew that was coming. I went “junior” for that reason. I add a reasonable tip (I’m British, it takes two extra steps not to add a tip and I’m medically scared of anyone thinking bad of me, even someone who I’ll never see again). It takes the purchase to $15.56 (£11.78), or £3.93 per bite. The mustard sachet was free, because this World Cup is truly determined to give back to fans.

Prices being overinflated at this tournament is hardly breaking news, but it’s on the stadium food that it really comes into its own. You can argue against lofty ticket costs, but the World Cup is at least a very captive market and an elite sporting environment. Paying 12 quid for a crap, small hotdog is less cool.

I had other options: the £9 pretzel or three-quarters of a pint of beer for £16.80, perhaps (plus tip). Nor is Arrowhead, Kansas City the most expensive stadium. In SoFi in Los Angeles, you can pay £14.70 for the beef nachos, plus 10 per cent sales tax plus tip. At least you cannot doubt the range of products on offer.

It’s just that I think you’d have to be silly to buy any of it. There are clearly times that call for emergency measures, such as a hungry child needing a meal ahead of an evening kick off after wanting to get into the stadium very early, or fancying some salty crisps after a day on the pop. But otherwise… nope.

In my experience, football supporters are prepared to accept uninspiring, make-do stadium food if it is relatively cheap. They are also prepared to pay a premium – although not to the point of piss-take – for decent food. One of the conclusions of my Doing The 92 series was that we live in an age where you can eat bao buns outside a League One football ground. This small, expensive, tasteless (other than the mustard) hot dog ticks none of those boxes.

I’ve seen very few queues for concessions in World Cup stadia, either before the match or at half-time. Anecdotal evidence suggests that US spectators are more likely to buy than foreigners, presumably because they are used to the prices. But few other people are.

Which is in some way reassuring. Perhaps there is a price point at which we can say no to being gouged. Perhaps we do deserve better. But also: why on earth would you be stupid enough to eat in the stadium anyway?

On the Road USA

Join Daniel Storey on his 7,200-mile odyssey across the US to tell the stories of a World Cup like no other.

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People are very down on the quality of American food; it is a running joke in the UK. Yes, there is a seemingly endless list of fast food options serving pretty tepid fare. Yes, this is the natural home of deep-frying beige products to make them a little less beige. Yes, the portions are massive (is that bad?!). And yes, lots of these things are tempting because they are literally created to be addictive.

But that’s only a small part of the American food climate, even if its cultural dominance through television advertising and vast billboards persuades you otherwise. I’d say that has been the element of travelling to – and around – America that has surprised most supporters. In Warrensburg, Missouri on Thursday evening, a Dutch fan seemed more excited about the slow-cooked meat he had been eating than beating Tunisia 3-1 that day.

In large cities, where games are hosted, America’s vast immigrant communities offer a wealth of choice for just about every cuisine imaginable: Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese, Japanese are the most common. These communities created a food truck culture which has grown exponentially in volume, value and quality over the last decade.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ64sxmhZUS/

Even in the smallest towns in the southern states, the average quality of Mexican food is exceptional. When you move further north, you find barbecue better than anything I’ve eaten in the UK in every provincial town. I had the best sliced brisket of my life (see video above) in a pit barbecue restaurant in Lindsay, Texas. Lindsay has a population of 1,045.

Perhaps we should be thanking the World Cup’s venue operators and concession partners for trying to charge spectators so much and seeing relatively few takers. Inadvertently, they have persuaded travellers here to find different, better value, better quality options that rail against the stereotypes of American food culture. I won’t be buying another hot dog, junior or otherwise.

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I have no idea how good England are, and it’s partly my job to know. If you think you have a handle on where Thomas Tuchel is, what his defence will be for the next match and whether we have actually played well or how Tuchel wants us to play yet, fair play.

England were good for one half against Croatia, no halves against Ghana and one half against Panama, albeit winning 2-0 was probably just about par for the course.

I would posit that this has been the most confusing England group stage of my lifetime. And here is why.

The lurches in performance

It didn’t feel inappropriate to praise England after the second half against Croatia. It was England’s most fluid major tournament performance against decent opposition since the 4-0 against Ukraine in Euro 2020. We thought we knew what this England team were going to be and we liked it.

And then they promptly went three halves of football against the third and fourth best teams in the group without scoring. And then when we were all preparing angry social media posts (guilty), England clicked and scored twice. So was the fun the exception or the truth? Are we a control team or a chaos team?

Breaking teams down

Perhaps this shouldn’t have surprised us, given England scored three goals in 180 minutes against Andorra in qualifying. But I think we can at least be certain that England struggle to break down low blocks because the wingers struggle to dribble past full-backs and Harry Kane isn’t really a poacher anymore.

But that certainty creates its own confusion. The assumption is that England will be better against stronger opponents because they won’t just sit deep, but why would any manager not just tell his team to soak up England pressure, provoke overcommitment of players and then hit us on the break? Will we be better against better or just lose to the first decent opposition?

The new manager

Lots of this uncertainty comes from having the first new manager at a major tournament since Roy Hodgson lost to Iceland. It has actually been a virtual mirror of the 2022 World Cup, when England got busy in the first game (6-2), drew the second 0-0 and won the third fairly comfortably but having been level at half-time.

But then Tuchel was supposed to be different. He still might be, if he proves himself capable of beating a high-end nation in a major tournament outside England. It’s just that the group stage have given us no reliable information as to whether that will happen or not.

The stars turning up

For all that England laboured in sections of all three group games, the general aim at a major tournament is to have your world-class attacking players involved in the most moments that matter.

England have played three games. Kane has scored three goals and Jude Bellingham has two. Bellingham has two man-of-the-match awards, Kane one. This is good, right? So why does it not quite feel right yet?

The right-backs

Every England melodrama needs a farcical storyline and England’s right-back situation is it. We’ve not picked the guy from Real Madrid. We’ve picked the two guys who are good but injury prone and one of them got injured and went home and the other got injured and is still there. We called up a central defender to play at right-back and now he’s injured too.

This may be something that we all look back on and laugh in a few months. It might also be a defining theme of England’s tournament. To clarify: again, no idea.

The opponents

I think this is an underrated element of the confusion. We are used to Croatia being really good and also solid defensively; they had a high defensive line and England won a chaos match against a side that looked way past its best. Ghana had been appalling for most of the last 12 months and then produced a phenomenal low block display under a new manager.

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And we beat Panama 6-1 in 2018 to create unrealistic expectations and clearly they’re a competent team in most areas now. It’s one thing not knowing if your own team is playing well. It’s another not knowing how good your opponents are either.

The rest of the competition

England are here to win the World Cup. Everybody in the camp says as much. Inevitably you also look across to see how potential peers and challengers are getting on. That also clouds all logic.

France have been sensational in attack and seem viable favourites. England have scored more goals than Spain. Netherlands drew with Japan but then clicked. Same with Brazil against Morocco. Argentina have strolled through the groups but haven’t been tested yet. I don’t even know what to think about Germany and Portugal. This isn’t helping, is it?

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METLIFE STADIUM — It is job done for England after they dispatched Panama in New Jersey to book a knockout tie in Atlanta next week.

In teeming rain they made heavy weather of the first half but goals from man of the match Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane eased the nerves in the second half.

It answered questions about England’s inability to unlock low blocks but there is still a measure of uncertainty about how they’ll fare against the better sides in North America.

Those are questions for another day, though. For now, England can reflect on completing the first part of their World Cup assignment with the minimum of fuss.

Jordan Pickford – 6/10

I don’t know why but I feel a bit uneasy about Pickford at this tournament, even if this was a second successive clean sheet. Perhaps it’s because his distribution hasn’t been up to his usual high standards?

Jarell Quansah – 6/10

Didn’t do anything wrong but he’s no right-back, is he? A big worry that he limped off in the second half because England’s options in this role are dwindling.

Jarell Quansah is heading off…

Djed Spence comes on for the Three Lions pic.twitter.com/buT54CovSn

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 27, 2026

Ezri Konsa – 6/10

England looked a little vulnerable on the counter and that is something to watch when they take on the bigger teams. Konsa seems installed ahead of John Stones now.

Marc Guehi – 6/10

There is still legitimate questions about this defence against better sides given Panama had a couple of big chances in the closing stages in New Jersey. When he lost Jose Fajardo in injury time it nearly cost England a goal.

Nico O’Reilly – 6/10

He’s not going to let anyone down at left-back but we’re yet to see the side of him that had Manchester City fans purring in the run-in. Perhaps when they play better sides?

Elliot Anderson – 7/10

A new challenge for Anderson with the double pivot – and his midfield protection – gone but he prospered here. He covers so much ground it’s impossible not to be impressed.

Jude Bellingham – 9/10

Was it a fever dream or was there really a debate about whether Bellingham started before the tournament began? Always looked like the spark here and his instinctive volley got the ball rolling. Genuine world-class talent.

ENGLAND BREAK THE DEADLOCK!

Jude Bellingham taps in from a corner… The Three Lions top the group as it stands pic.twitter.com/WVtY6x5Qbb

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 27, 2026

Bukayo Saka – 7/10

Any England fan who criticised Arsenal’s set pieces should quietly delete those tweets. That’s two of the five goals they’ve scored here coming from Ashburton Grove. Saka’s return showed what we’ve been missing.

Morgan Rogers – 5/10

Hmm, there wasn’t a lot to get excited about here. Maybe he wasn’t deployed in his favourite role but you’d still expect more ball progression from a player with his devastating pace.

Marcus Rashford – 7/10

Did more, from an attacking perspective, in his first ten minutes than Anthony Gordon had done in two starts. But it was a bit of an erratic display with some profligacy mixed with some great stuff.

Harry Kane – 7/10

Not the all-action performance of Dallas but a third World Cup goal and he’s now the outright all-time top scorer in this competition for England. Remains Mr Reliable.

HARRY KANE MAKES IT TWO!

Bellingham turns provider and suddenly England are cruising

Kane becomes England's all-time top scorer at World Cup finals pic.twitter.com/cWdElDoCN2

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 27, 2026

Subs

Djed Spence – 6/10

England’s last man standing at right-back. He did fine but England will be worried about the number of injuries they’ve got there.

Noni Madueke – 6/10

Some nice flashes of pace as England stretched tired Panama legs.

Eberechi Eze – 6/10

Didn’t have much time to impress.

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Jordan Henderson – 6/10

Few minutes at the end felt like recognition for his work behind-the-scenes in the camp.

Ollie Watkins – 6/10

A few minutes at the end for England’s striking plan B.

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METLIFE STADIUM — On his day, there is nobody like Jude Bellingham. He is such an intricate talent, however, that unlocking his true potential is a challenge that can twist the greatest footballing minds into knots.

He has all the physical attributes to be a devastating No 10. His tactical awareness and in-game intelligence make him the perfect foil for a juggernaut of a goalscorer like Harry Kane too.

For England especially, Bellingham can drift in and out of the game all too readily as a staccato shadow striker. It has become the leitmotif of Thomas Tuchel’s England reign so far.

To his credit, Tuchel has failed to succumb to a problem that has stumped others who came before. His decision to move Bellingham deeper alongside Elliot Anderson against Panama, with Morgan Rogers playing off Harry Kane, was certainly a bold one.

It is not a system that the dogmatic German would perhaps deploy against elite opposition – effectively a front five – but Bellingham’s all-action, high-octane display – with one goal and sublime assist to fire England to top spot in the group – provided a potential answer to the quandary managers often find themselves in over the Real Madrid star.

Shifting to a flatter 4-3-3 should therefore be considered as England’s weapon of choice going forward. If a fit-again Declan Rice cannot be left out, and Anderson’s metronomic abilities are impossible to omit, then Bellingham alongside Tuchel’s go-to pair may well become that previously elusive winning formula.

The pouring rain in New Jersey gave the MetLife Stadium a home-game feel for England. A much-changed England would surely be energised by Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford’s return, against a team they thrashed 6-0 in their last World Cup meeting. This was, to all intents and purposes, a shoo-in, a matter of many England would score.

In the opening 45 minutes, Kane had 10 touches, fewer than any other player on the pitch. A top-heavy England looked vulnerable on the counter, while again struggling to break through a low block.

Rashford came close to breaking the deadlock on several occasions, but otherwise it was a familiar tale of England unable to make use of their possession domination to any great effect.

Panama are not the international backwater they used to be. Since that 2018 humbling in Russia, they have finished runner-up in the Gold Cup and Nations League, beating the United States in the latter semi-finals.

They still represented opposition a team as talented as England should put to the sword. Especially when the big players step up. Kane finally had an impact early in the second half, forcing a fine save from Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera, before Bellingham eventually made one count, volleying home from a Saka corner.

The sashay inside and clipped cross onto the head of Kane to secure victory was the difference between a nervy end and cruising into the knockout stages as group winners.

Dropping into wider positions to create such match-defining moments may not come about if operating closer to Kane, as an orthodox No 10. Engineering space is not an easy task on the international stage, but Bellingham’s change of position at least creates half spaces the very best thrive in.

Read more

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This set-up may be too kamikaze later on, but creating a role for Bellingham from deep is still possible.

The Panama experiment just about paid off, but the formula is not 100 per cent proof yet. One thing is for sure: Tuchel’s most pertinent task is to replicate Bellingham the deep-lying force again in the knockout stages.

The results could be devastating.

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