A report by ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle about U.S. national team Gregg Berhalter on Wednesday set off new hysteria on the little world of soccer Twitter: “USMNT boss Gregg Berhalter weighs up Europe move amid new contract talk – sources.” The part about new contract talks is what got people going. I’d started by asking, would […]
Paul Kennedy
Paul Kennedy edited Soccer America for 41 years (1985-2026). He began writing for SA in 1974. He started writing for France Football in 1978 and has served on in Ballon d'Or jury since 2007.
Posted inSoccer America Daily, Story
USA-Netherlands draws almost 13 million TV viewers on Fox
The USA’s final 2022 World Cup match drew 12,966,000 viewers on Fox. The USA lost to the Netherlands, 3-1, in the round of 16. The audience peaked with 16,368,000 million viewers watching during the 11:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m. ET window. English-language audiences: 2022 U.S. World Cup: 15.4 million USA-England (Matchday 2), FOX 13 million USA-Netherlands (Round […]
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USA exits World Cup to a familiar feeling, a case of men against boys
The end of each World Cup comes quickly and brutally. The USA waited almost eight and half years to return to the finals, and it’s going home after only 13 days. Each World Cup has the same rhythm. Each extra day in the tournament is a chance to sell soccer to a wider American public. […]
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Five things the USMNT has gotten right (and will need to do against the Dutch)
All those wins in the 2021 Concacaf Nations League and at the 2021 Gold Cup added up, boosting the USA’s points in the FIFA rankings and assuring it a second seed in the 2022 World Cup draw. Mexico, Denmark and Uruguay were also placed in Pot 2, and all failed to get out of the […]
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Christian Pulisic: 'I'm doing everything in my power' to play
It’s the question on the mind of every U.S. soccer fan: Will Christian Pulisic be ready to play on Saturday when the USA faces the Netherlands in the round of 16 at the World Cup? Pulisic was injured when he scored the winning goal late in the first half of the 1-0 win over Iran […]
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USA-Iran draws 12 million viewers on Fox
The USA’s 2022 World Cup match against Iran drew 12,013,000 viewers on Fox, the largest audience ever for a third match of the group stage. The USA beat Iran, 1-0, to advance to the round of 16. The audience peaked with 15.6 million viewers watching the tense ending for the last quarter of an hour […]
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By the Numbers: U.S. win over Iran in context
9 The USA’s 1-0 win over Iran was just its ninth victory in 36 games at the World Cup. 1. 1930 Belgium 3-0 McGhee, Florie, Patenaude 2. 1930 Paraguay 3-0 Patenaude (3) 3. 1950 England 1-0 Gaetjens 4. 1994 Colombia 2-1 Own goal, Stewart 5. 2002 Portugal 3-2 O’Brien, own goal, McBride 6. 2002 Mexico […]
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USA graduates from soccer to football before our eyes
The USA is through to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup. It isn’t the first time the USA has survived group play. It did it in its last two appearances in the tournament — in 2010 and 2014 — and before that in 1994 when it hosted the World Cup and in […]
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USA-Iran: 1998 offers clues about path to victory
Gregg Berhalter was 24 when the USA played Iran in Lyon, France, at the 1998 World Cup. He had just finished his fourth pro season in the Netherlands and had already been capped four times for the United States, but a problem with his Achilles’ tendon kept him off the USA’s final World Cup roster. […]
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Carlos Queiroz on Iran's motivation, what facing USA means to him and the power of soccer
This is Iran’s sixth trip to the World Cup, and the 2022 tournament is its best chance to finally get out of its group. Friday’s 2-0 win over Wales, which followed a 6-2 loss to England four days earlier, was only the third Iranian victory in 17 games at the World Cup. But a win […]