World Cup: From fall guys to contenders, the US mean business against England in Group B clash

Published

2 years ago

November 25, 2022

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“Soccer’s coming home,” they sing, to the tune of the Skinner and Baddiel classic.

It’s a chant of choice for American fans ahead of the World Cup showdown, poking fun at their English opponents.

We heard it from the crowd watching the University of Maryland take on Fairleigh Dickinson University.

The gag is, of course, the replacement of the word “football” with “soccer” – for UK listeners, it’s a lyric that could only have been written in fingernail on a blackboard.

As supporter wind-ups go, it’s at the benign end of the scale, far removed from the terracing attrition in the land where the game began. Some cultural traditions, it seems, take longer to transfer.

US soccer is football, but not quite as we know it in the UK, certainly not as we speak it.

It’s where players “turn and burn”, wear “cleats” on their feet, not boots; take “PKs”, not penalties and, yes, take liberties with the very name of the game.

From fall guys to contenders

However you word it, the US men’s team have come a long way. They are fall guys-cum-contenders in a sport that America found late.

As the game grew worldwide, it struggled for space in a crowded sporting marketplace, squeezed out by American football, baseball, basketball et al.

America’s male footballers have long been in the shadow of the country’s women’s team. They are a sporting superpower and serial winners of the World Cup (a record four times).

The women’s game has reaped the benefit of a college system that was attracting many of the country’s best female athletes to soccer scholarships, while their male counterparts leaned towards more traditional US sports.

The US Soccer Hall of Fame at FC Dallas hosts a display that recalls the 1950 World Cup match when America’s men, famously, beat England 1-0.

It was such a shock that they made a film of it: The Miracle Match. Seventy-two years on, there would be nothing miraculous about a US win against England in Qatar.

Men’s soccer has ‘taken off’

After a stilted journey towards an established soccer set-up, the US men’s team are ranked 16th in the world.

FC Dallas president and chairman Dan Hunt spoke to Sky News about how the men’s game, domestically, has grown.

He said: “The success of American soccer really goes back to 1994. Having the World Cup here in the United States kicked off a new generation of players on the men’s side.

“The women’s game was already successful and doing well, but the excitement and energy that brought really kickstarted soccer again in this country.

“It’s been a history of fits and starts and stops. You look at the big win against England in 1950, which was such a reference point, and then we basically went dark for 40 years, between 1950 and 1990.

“The old NASL (North America Soccer League) has come and gone. The promise that we had to make as a country was to create a first division professional league, and that’s what brought MLS (Major League Soccer) to life.

“The early years of MLS were incredibly difficult but, for me, the most pivotal moment was the 2002 World Cup where the US team did really well with a number of MLS players.

“Some had already gone abroad and had success in Europe, but that really was the foundation because, only a year earlier, MLS had talked about going out of business and that was the little bit of momentum we needed.

“Since then, the MLS has really taken off.”

While football club academies in America have, increasingly, become a feeder to the highest level of the sport, the college system still provides a pathway to the professional game.

The University of Maryland is a powerhouse production line of talent – graduates from its scholarship programme have played in the last five World Cups.

Sasho Cirovski is the university’s coach, whose career has spanned decades of growth in the American game.

He told Sky News: “The American college system is unique to the whole world. It’s the one place in the world where you can combine high level academics with high-level soccer in a residential setting with tremendous facilities.

“You’re prepared to deal with being away from home, you’re prepared to deal with the expectations of performance.

“You’re scrutinised by the media, you’re challenged by the coaches, and you’re around players who also want to be high-level pros and win championships. So, when you have that kind of support network where you can grow, and you can blossom, it allows players to realise their dreams.

“We have the great advantage in this country of being able to watch and experience and learn from other sports. There is a character and competitiveness about the American athlete – a winning mentality, a toughness that is bred across different sports.

“For a long time, we had to learn from watching the Bundesliga or English Premier League – now we can see it in our own country. But we can also see it from other sports, so there’s a wide array of learning around you that really shows you what it’s going to take to be great.”

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LA fires: Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal’s homes burn down as more celebrities evacuated

Published

54 mins ago

January 9, 2025

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LA fires: Paris Hilton and Billy Crystal's homes burn down as more celebrities evacuated

Hollywood celebrities are among thousands of people who have been evacuated in Los Angeles, some fleeing homes now burned to the ground.

Paris Hilton and actor Billy Crystal have both lost their houses as fires rip through parts of California, including exclusive suburbs home to film stars and billionaires.

Oscar-winning songwriter Diane Warren, talk show host Ricki Lake, actor Cary Elwes, and reality stars Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag have also confirmed their homes have been destroyed.

US media is reporting that Eugene Levy, and Adam Brody and Leighton Meester, have lost their homes. The stars are yet to confirm this.

Sky News’ US correspondent Martha Kelner reported that Tom Hanks, Ben Affleck and Reese Witherspoon were among those evacuated.

Follow latest: At least five killed as flames spread

The blaze in Pacific Palisades, a hillside area between Santa Monica and Malibu dotted with celebrity homes, is one of at least five raging in California.

Thousands of firefighters are trying to contain the flames, with a new fire breaking out overnight in the Hollywood Hills, threatening a host of tourist sites including the Walk Of Fame.

‘The loss is overwhelming’

Hilton said she was “heartbroken beyond words” to see her Malibu home, where she has brought up her young children Phoenix and London, “burn to the ground on live TV”.

In a post on social media, she said: “This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London.

“While the loss is overwhelming, I’m holding onto gratitude that my family and pets are safe.”

In a joint statement, US actor Crystal, known for films including When Harry Met Sally and Analyze This, and his wife Janice confirmed their home of 46 years was gone.

“Words cannot describe the enormity of the devastation we are witnessing and experiencing,” the couple said.

They added: “We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away.”

The Hills stars Pratt and Montag documented the escalation of the fire at their home on Snapchat, with Pratt saying: “I’m watching our house burn down on the security cameras.”

His sister, Stephanie, who also starred in The Hills, as well as Made In Chelsea, told Sky News yesterday that she did not know if her own home was okay.

“I talked to my neighbour last night and she told me that [Palisades Charter High School] had burnt down, and that’s directly behind me, and so had Gelson’s Supermarket which is adjacent,” she said.

“I just can’t reach anyone to see if my house is okay. I just Googled it and it said that it’s destroyed and terrible… I don’t know if my house is there.”

Jamie Lee Curtis confirmed her home was safe but said “our beloved neighbourhood is gone” as she shared videos of the blaze on her Instagram.

Writer and actor Steve Guttenberg told Sky News he witnessed panic attacks and despair as he tried to help residents as the flames closed in.

The Police Academy star said: “There were mothers trying to find their kids.

“There were panic attacks. It was terrible. And that’s when the fires just lit up.”

Other celebrities who have fled their properties include the award-winning actor James Woods, who said he had been safely evacuated from his home in Pacific Palisades.

But he added in a post on X: “I do not know at this moment if our home is still standing.”

Actor Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films, also posted on social media on Wednesday saying he evacuated his home in Malibu and his family were “fleeing for our lives”.

This Is Us actress Mandy Moore was also forced to leave her home with her children and pets, saying on Instagram they had found temporary refuge with friends.

The actress said: “Trying to shield the kids from the immense sadness and worry I feel.

“Praying for everyone in our beautiful city. So gutted for the destruction and loss. Don’t know if our place made it.”

An awards ceremony planned for this weekend has been pushed back by two weeks, while the Oscar nominations next week have also been postponed.

According to Velvet Ropes, which maps celebrity properties, Matt Damon, Steven Spielberg, Hilary Swank and Sally Field all have homes close to where fires are raging.

Dr Dre, Tyra Banks, Martin Short, Anna Faris, Milo Ventimiglia, Linda Cardellini, Mary McDonnell, Adam Sandler, Miles Teller, and Jennifer Love Hewitt are also said to have houses in affected areas.

In neighbouring Malibu, which was also affected by fires in December, stars including Beyonce and Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish are said to be among the celebrity residents.

The Palisades blaze has already burnt through nearly 16,000 acres of land, while the Eaton fire, covering over 10,000 acres, has caused the death of five people.

Three other fires, the Hurst fire, Lidia fire and Sunset fire, are all raging as emergency services battle to bring them under control.

US

All five living US presidents pictured together at funeral of Jimmy Carter

Published

4 hours ago

January 9, 2025

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All five living US presidents pictured together at funeral of Jimmy Carter

All five of the living US presidents have been pictured together at the funeral of Jimmy Carter.

The 39th US president died at the age of 100 on 29 December, in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.

President Joe Biden gave a eulogy to his fellow Democrat at the state funeral at the Washington National Cathedral.

He appeared alongside president-elect Donald Trump and other former presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton and their respective spouses.

Vice president Kamala Harris, who lost the 2024 election to Mr Trump, was also seated with the group alongside her husband.

It’s the first time the Democrat nominee has been seen with the president-elect since the US election, and after she certified Mr Trump’s election win on Monday.

Before the service, Mr Trump was also seen shaking hands with former vice president Mike Pence – the first time the pair have been seen in public together since leaving the White House in 2021.

Prior to that, Mr Pence had refused to back Mr Trump’s claim he had won the 2020 election.

Mr Obama and Mr Trump were also seen talking before the service began.

During his eulogy, Mr Biden said Mr Carter taught him the importance of treating “everyone with dignity and respect.”

“To young people, to anyone in search of meaning and purpose, study the power of Jimmy Carter’s example,” the president said. “Character, faith, love – a true patriot.”

Joshua Carter, the former president’s grandson, also said at the service: “He built houses for people who needed homes.

“He eliminated diseases in forgotten places. He waged peace anywhere in the world, wherever he saw a chance. He loved people.”

From 4 January, Mr Carter’s body was carried by a motorcade through Plains, before heading to the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta.

The former president’s remains were then flown to Maryland and transferred in a ceremony to a hearse, which was carried in a motorcade to the US Navy Memorial in Washington to honour Mr Carter’s service as a lieutenant in the Navy.

He has since been lying in state at the Capitol Building, where the public could pay respects from Tuesday evening through to Thursday morning

Mr Carter’s body will now be returned to his hometown in Georgia for a second service and burial.

There, a private ceremony will be held at Maranatha Baptist Church before another procession through Plains, where supporters are being encouraged to line the streets for the motorcade.

Mr Carter will then be buried on his property next to his late wife, Rosalynn, who died in 2023.