Maybe this World Cup will bring the best out of the US, not the worst

Maybe this World Cup will bring the best out of the US, not the worst | Barney Ronay

Tournament could hold up a useful hand mirror to the isolationism and divisiveness of Trump’s joint-host nation One of the best parts of following football across the world is the way it drags you into special places, local shrines, objects of profound cultural connection. The US, of course, has these holy spaces too. The queue of pilgrims in Philadelphia on Thursday morning stretched down the sun-blasted steps to the plaza at the bottom. Edging forward, the people in their ritual colours approached the figure at the top, arms outstretched in supplication, in a state of hushed deference. Called finally for his moment of communion, the man at the front of this line straightened his Ronaldinho shirt, clenched his fists above his head for the ceremonial Insta pic and shouted: “Adrian! I did it.” Continue reading...

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What happened

According to The Guardian’s source item, Maybe this World Cup will bring the best out of the US, not the worst | Barney Ronay, Tournament could hold up a useful hand mirror to the isolationism and divisiveness of Trump’s joint-host nation One of the best parts of following football across the world is the way it drags you into special places, local shrines, objects of profound cultural connection. The US, of course, has these holy spaces too. The queue of pilgrims in Philadelphia on Thursday morning stretched down the sun-blasted steps to the plaza at the bottom. Edging forward, the people in their ritual colours approached the figure at the top, arms outstretched in supplication, in a state of hushed deference. Called finally for his moment of communion, the man at the front of this line straightened his Ronaldinho shirt, clenched his fists above his head for the ceremonial Insta pic and shouted: “Adrian! I did it.” Continue reading…

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Global file for readers following international affairs, institutions, conflict, diplomacy, economics, and cross-border consequences. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-06-22T04:00:50+00:00.

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Primary source: Maybe this World Cup will bring the best out of the US, not the worst | Barney Ronay via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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