‘A brilliant reprieve, a unifying force’: America falls in love with World Cup

Packed stadiums, record TV viewers, and an outlet for joyous multiculturalism under attack by Trump – the tournament has taken the US by storm

There were plenty of reasons to believe the US hosting the World Cup would be a disaster.

In the year and a half leading up to the kick-off, Donald Trump had threatened to annex tournament co-host Canada, and to invade the other co-host, Mexico; he was at war with one of the tournament’s participants, Iran. Harsh travel restrictions were preventing fans from Senegal, Ivory Coast and Haiti from getting visas. Ticket prices were outrageous. Hotels weren’t filling up as promised. Fifa was introducing “hydration breaks” during games, allowing TV commercials in what appeared to be a shameless cash grab that threatened the flow of play.

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