Absence of Americans could put squeeze on television ratings.
The World Cup kicks off Thursday in Moscow without familiar faces like the United States, Italy, Holland and Chile.
On the flip side, defending champion Germany is salty as ever. Brazil still has the most talent. Spain is loaded, even with a bizarre last-minute coaching change. France is explosive. Argentina has arguably the best player on the planet.
Mexico, with legions of El Tri fans spread across the States, will stand in as America’s Team.
Soccer is gaining steam in this country, but enough to justify Fox’s $400 million broadcast-rights gamble on Russia ’18 and the 2022 and 2026 games?
“This is the summer we find out how much Americans really like soccer,” said Michael MacCambridge, a former American-Statesman writer who’s teaching a World Cup class at the University of Texas this summer. “In recent World Cups, so much of the focus was on the U.S. team and the massive crowds that gathered around the country to watch those games.
“This year everything is working against it being a big event here. Because of the time difference in Russia, most of the matches will be occurring in the morning. For the first time in the memory of most American soccer fans, ESPN isn’t broadcasting it. And the U.S. isn’t playing.
“If, in the face of all that, the tournament still gets substantial viewership numbers — and dominates sports talk for the next month — that would be telling.”
Phil West, a soccer historian and author who lives in Austin, certainly was betting on the U.S. qualifying. His most recent book “I Believe That We Will Win” makes a case for the Americans contending for the title. He had to do some rewriting after the Yanks lost 2-1 to Trinidad and Tobago in October. Yet West said Wednesday’s announcement that the United States, Mexico and Canada will co-host the 2026 World Cup provides a positive jolt.
“We can at least watch it with the satisfaction of knowing we’ll be hosting this party in ’26,” West said. “We might still say, ‘that could have been us,’ when we see another team celebrate a goal, but when we see crowds