USMNT

[Sports Illustrated FC @SI_FootballClub]

Not tonight.

[Alexi Lalas @AlexiLalas]

If we’re gonna have our first 0-0 game of this World Cup, at least let it be historic…and it was. Congratulations to the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde🇨🇻 .

[Steven Goff @SoccerInsider]

Christian Pulisic is not participating in initial USMNT exercises this morning in Irvine …

[Andrew Côté @Andercot]

As an immigrant to the US I don't think Americans realize to what extent most of the world admires the states.

They look up to it, its incredible. Americans are heroes of the world for the country they've built and the impact on history. Most of modern civilizations major achievements are American, at least the big ones - mass production, space industry, nuclear power, decoding the human genome, robotics and AI, on and on.

There's really nothing that compares to the excitement of moving to the states from another country. You made it. This is the big leagues. The main stage. The soft power of Hollywood cultural projection meant by the time I arrived, everything was oddly familiar, the design of street signs, roads, the look and feel of the country. This guy from India said - "you know, its like I am in GTA" - and its true. Everywhere on the planet people play video games as American soldiers.

You get primed for it, by the time you get here you're like, fuck yeah, America.

When I first moved here for an internship at SLAC I drove a pickup truck down from Canada and played country music. Smoked cigarettes on the highway. Went for late night rips in the hills behind Stanford. Bought a surfboard.

It was just awesome, truthfully, and I think America will have to save Europe from itself a third time, simply by protecting freedom of speech, national pride, individual liberties, given Europeans a taste of those things, showing them - look, this is how its supposed to be. This is how rich you can become if you respect individual rights over government rule, if you relax the bureaucracy, the taxation, the regulation.

[HausenKS 🌾🇺🇸 @HausenKS]

Only the U.S. could host the World Cup, UFC 250, the Stanley Cup and the NBA Finals all in one weekend with no problems. 🇺🇸 💪 😎

[Super 70s Sports @Super70sSports]

When I was a kid every alcoholic television character would have that one pivotal moment where they stared at an empty bottle and then furiously hurled it. And that’s when you knew they were gonna make a fucking comeback.

[NOBUNAGA🇯🇵🏯_夏樹蒼依 @japan_nobunaga]

There came a knock at my gate, and a young warrior, small but formidable, stood ready for battle.

She was perhaps nine. Behind her, at the sidewalk, a parent stood like a supply wagon. The sash carried badges of past campaigns. She looked up at me and spoke the words every American fears and longs for:

"Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?"

In Japan, sales require months of relationship. Tea is poured. Cards are exchanged with two hands. Here, a nine-year-old general appears on your own land with a binder of product, and resistance has never once succeeded in the history of the republic.

"What is your strongest unit?" I asked.

"Thin Mints. Everybody gets Thin Mints."

"And if I refuse?"

She did not answer. She looked at me. The parent shifted weight. Somewhere, a wind chime rang. Refusal, I understood, was technically possible the way swimming to Hawaii is technically possible.

"Four boxes," I said.

"Most people get more. They freeze."

THEY FREEZE. Forward logistics. This child carries doctrine my family needed three centuries to learn: the campaign is won before it is fought, in the freezer.

I bought nine boxes. I am told this is called a start.

Dale confessed he buys from three generals, granddaughter, coworker's daughter, the girl at the supermarket table, and hides the count from his wife. Tribute, he calls it. Correct. This is not commerce. This is fealty, paid annually, in cookies.

I was not hungry. I was outranked.

A man does not negotiate with a general who brings Thin Mints. He surrenders, and calls it a donation.

The boxes are in my freezer, as instructed. They are nearly gone. She said she would return next year.

I have already begun setting aside funds. One does not meet such a commander unprepared twice.

[AliveLFC @Alive_LFC]

🚨Van Dijk on Japan Fans Cleaning the Stadium and Endo Retirement:

🗣️"A reporter caught up with me right on the touchline after the game and asked, 'Virgil, a brilliant personal milestone with your first World Cup goal, but a tough pill to swallow conceding late. How do you summarize the match, and what are your thoughts seeing the Japanese fans staying back to clean the stadium?' I took a second, looked up at the stands, and told him, 'Look, it’s obviously a bit frustrating from our side because we held the lead twice, and connecting with Ryan's cross to get my header into the back of the net felt amazing. But you have to give massive credit to Japan—they are a fantastic, technically gifted side that never knows when they are beaten

But honestly, if you want to talk about what makes football beautiful, just look around the stadium right now. Their team just fought back to secure a massive point at the death, and instead of just wild partying, their supporters are actively walking through the rows with blue trash bags, collecting litter and leaving the stadium completely spotless. It is an incredible display of humility and pure respect that transcends sports. They show the exact same class on the terraces that their players show on the pitch, and the entire world can learn a lot from them.

I also want to take a moment to speak about my #LFC teammate, Wataru Endo. I went over to hug him at full time because I know this tournament marks the final chapter of his incredible international career. He is a warrior, a fantastic leader for the Samurai Blue, and an absolute credit to his country. I told him on the pitch how immensely proud he should be of everything he has built for Japanese football. I wish Wataru nothing but the absolute best of luck in his international retirement—he deserves a legendary send-off, and we are waiting to welcome him back to Merseyside with open arms.'

[Alvin Kamara @A_kamara6]

lol shit is funny because everybody thinks Jameis doin this for show but he really just a genuinely good dude in real life… cameras or not.

[Anish Moonka @anishmoonka]

Japan fans brought their own blue garbage bags to a World Cup match. No stadium rule required it. They brought the bags from home. They do this at every tournament, in every stadium, win or lose. Nearly 80 years of deliberate education built this habit.

Tokyo, with 13 million residents, is one of the cleanest megacities on the planet. It achieved that after most of its public trash cans were removed following a 1995 terror attack. The bins never fully came back. The streets stayed spotless anyway.

The explanation starts at age 6, long before anyone thinks about football. In Japanese schools, students handle all the daily cleaning themselves. Four days a week after lunch, they spend 20 minutes scrubbing classrooms, hallways, and bathrooms in a session called "Soji." The broader program is "Tokkatsu," meaning "special activities," and Japan built it into the national curriculum in 1947 while rebuilding the education system after World War II. Over 12 years, a student completes nearly 2,000 of these sessions.

The lesson is direct: if you use a space, you take responsibility for it. The stadium section belongs to you for 90 minutes. Leave it better.

At the 2018 World Cup, Japan fans cleaned the Rostov Arena stands after losing 3-2 to Belgium in the final seconds. They had been 2-0 up. The team's dressing room, also spotless, held a note that said "thank you" in Russian. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the dressing room had 11 origami cranes and a thank-you note in Japanese and Arabic.

Grief doesn't suspend the behavior. A camera doesn't trigger it. Nearly 2,000 cleaning sessions completed before age 18 makes it automatic.

Japan has run this system since 1947. The stadium section is just a classroom with 70,000 seats.

[WestCoast_Life @westcoast_lyfe]

This international coverage of the World Cup in small town America is devastating to the legacy media narrative

[人類記録館🐒🚶‍♀️👨 @p_chiku_pa_chi]

【競技を超えた絆】
Ｗ杯オランダ戦、客席に「最強のサポーター」がいました。
バスケ日本代表の英雄、ホーキンソン選手が降臨。
必勝ハチマキを巻くその姿に、日本中が震えています。

■ スタジアムに現れた巨漢
２０２６年Ｗ杯、激闘が続くアメリカの現地会場。
カメラが捉えたのは、侍ジャパンを応援するホーキンソン氏。
身長２０８ｃｍの彼は、客席でも圧倒的な存在感。
誰よりも真剣な表情で、ピッチに視線を送っていました。

■ ガチすぎる「日本愛」
着用しているのは日本代表の新ユニフォーム。
お馴染みの「必勝」ハチマキを完璧に着こなす。
アメリカ出身でありながら、魂は完全に日本人。
競技の枠を軽々と超え、日本を背負い続けています。

■ 数字で見る熱量
・ホーキンソン選手の身長：２０８ｃｍ
・競技の壁：バスケからサッカーへ
・米津玄師の新曲：『鳥』が流れる最高の瞬間

■ 結論
コートでは鷹のように舞い、客席では侍として戦う。
彼の熱いエールは、間違いなく選手に届いています。
今の日本スポーツ界の強さは、この「団結力」にあります。

他競技の選手をも虜にする、侍たちの快進撃。
あなたはこの「最強の応援団」に気づきましたか？

日本の誇り「鷹ちゃん」を応援したい人は、ぜひ保存・ＲＴを！

[ًًً @_captainpulisic]

THIS IS SO SO CUTE 😭

[Trigger @TriggerFCB]

Vozinha
40 años

Electricista de día y portero titular de Cabo Verde de noche

[Ajoje⚽⚖️ @israel_ajoje]

This was Hajime Moriyasu, coach of the Japanese National team weeping as Japan's anthem played. He wept not for a contract, not for a transfer fee but for something no money could ever buy.

This is the part of international football that club football can never replicate.

At club level, you can buy almost anything. A striker, a stadium, a trophy challenge, even a fanbase in a new market. Money builds clubs. But money cannot build a nation's team.

You cannot purchase the right to wear any national team's shirt. You inherit it, through citizenship, through ancestry, through being born into a story that started long before you and will continue long after.

That is why a manager cries before a ball is kicked. It is why a player might cry too. He is not representing shareholders. He is carrying the pride of millions of people who share his blood, his history, his flag.

Every teammate, every supporter, every ancestor who shaped that moment, bound together by something deeper than loyalty. By ancestral belonging.

The stars of international football cannot be bought. They have to be made. And they have to be yours.

That is the beauty of it.

My name is Ajoje. I am a FIFA Licensed Agent and International Sports Lawyer. I write on the Law and Business of Football, a lot. Repost and Follow if you want to read more posts like this.

[Skylar Skye @SkylarSkye3]

Yesterday I was walking around Las Vegas and two big strong American men came and picked me up

They were so nice as well, I swear there’s no where else in the world this sort of thing happens

I love America 🇺🇸

[BostonWriter @bostonwriter]

This. Is. America.

Not what the media tells you.

Not what politicians tell you.

Not what the loudest, most shrill voices from the dark corners of the interwebs tell you.

What you’re seeing from folks like @shaunvlog_ is what happens when you mute the media & live life.

[YU (ISHIDA) KANEKO @yyyiii08]

昨晩行ったパブで日本ユニはわたし一人。国歌斉唱のとき店の奥の方にいた人たちが日本に対してブーイングしたんだけど、わたしの周りにいたオランダ人たちがすぐさま気を遣って”Shhhhhh!! Respect!” って制してくれたの感動した。

[Stu Holden @stuholden]

I think this text from my father in law sums up that Cape Verde 0-0 draw with Spain perfectly

[Rob Usry @RobUsry]

You haven’t lived until you’ve witnessed Yaya Toure run 60 yards with the ball and score a banger. Educate yourself.