What the world is saying about United States
As of 2026-06-21
With Christian Pulisic sidelined by a calf injury, the co-host USMNT still beat Paraguay 4-1 and Australia 2-0 to win Group D early, and the outside narrative has flipped from "will they embarrass themselves" to genuine respect for Mauricio Pochettino's rebuild. The dominant cross-border storylines are twofold: foreign press (especially in Argentina) crediting Pochettino with forging a real tactical identity, and beaten opponents plus skeptics framing the wins through referee complaints and host-nation advantage. Bookmakers have sharply shortened the USA's title odds, though still well behind France, Spain and England.
The takes
La Nación (via Yahoo Noticias), Augusto Sanz· Argentinapraise
Praises the USA as a side with a 'recognizable identity, intensity to press, constant link-up play' that looked like a 'perfectly synchronized mechanism,' crediting Pochettino with turning a talented generation into a genuine team rather than mere hosts.[source]
Fox News (quoting Nestory Irankunda)· Australiacriticism
Australia forward Irankunda accused the referee of bias toward the USA: 'He was having a stinker today... He was giving every call to the USA. You have to give the calls both ways and he didn't do that.'[source]
Fox News (quoting coach Tony Popovic)· Australiacriticism
Australia coach Popovic blamed officiating and the 'host nation' noise — 'the referee gave too many fouls away' — while conceding his side was 'sluggish, heavy-legged' and that the USA 'won every duel, won every second ball.'[source]
FourFourTwo· United Kingdomneutral
Ran a pointed piece scrutinizing the USA's match official Felix Zwayer, noting he is 'alleged to have accepted a €300 bribe and served a six-month ban' in the 2005 German match-fixing scandal — feeding skepticism around the hosts' wins.[source]
FOX Sports (betting markets)· United Statessurprise
Bookmakers slashed the USA's title price to +3300 (from roughly +5500 pre-tournament), their shortest since December, after the hosts 'surged up the oddsboard' — though still far behind France (+390), Spain (+550) and England (+600).[source]
El Universo· Ecuadorpraise
Highlighted Pochettino's warning after the Paraguay rout that 'it's only the beginning,' framing the co-hosts' opening 4-1 thrashing as a statement performance that exceeded regional expectations for the USA.[source]
6 takes · all sources linked inline. See also the global sources index.