Neither football nor soccer: unpleasant draw between England and the United States | CHRONICLE

Sociopolitically one came from the other. From a football point of view, it can be said that too; however, both call this beautiful sport differently: “football” they call it in the land where football was fertilized in the mid-1800s, “soccer” they call it on the ground where it began to be practiced seriously beginning of 1990. However, this last Friday in Qatar neither of the two footballers could prevail.

After a brilliant debut against Iran, many, if not all, expected a ratification of “The Three Lions” as the main candidate for the title. However, against the “yankees” nothing of is happened; there was no associative game shown against the Asians and much less the advantage on the scoreboard.

What there was was tactical friction and sleepy passages for the fans, especially for those who saw it in front of a screen, not so for those who lived it from the stands of Al Bayt Stadium. There, using sport once again as a cultural manifestation of a society and idiosyncrasies, American fans lost their voices singing in chorus: “It’s called soccer (it’s called ‘soccer’)”.

And they had arguments to back up that sports battle cry. In the preview, the lights had been on Kane, Sterling, Saka and other Premier League figures, but throughout the game the spotlights ended up shining on Yunus Musiah, Tyler Adams and Christian Pulisic. Precisely, the latter raised the name with which he plays in the English league and was close to becoming a true “Captain America” ​​if it were not for the crossbar that returned his shot.

The selection of the country where “football” is played with hands and with armor in between was not enough to shine but it was enough to bombastically overshadow the historic heirs of football and at the same time endorse what is now a reality : his league, the much vilified Metro League Soccer (MLS), is no longer just a tournament where he is going to make money or live the last years of his career after having had a heyday in the “Old Continent”.

The “Uncle Sam’s Land” contest has also become a territory of opportunities for its own footballers. Of the 26 that make up Berhalter’s World Cup squad, more than half are active in or left an MLS team and against England, half of the team “grew up” in the domestic tournament.

Nothing guarantees that the performance exhibited so far on Qatari soil will be enough to continue dreaming of making history in a World Cup, but what is certain is that in “soccer” or football, nobody has the truth assured.