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My FIFA World Cup Diary -2 : When a major American newspaper gave it a miss!
US, one of three co-hosts, had made a triumphant start of its FIFA World Cup campaign with a 4-1 win over Paraguay.
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Prabhjot Paul Singh - Wed, 17, Jun 2026
- 05:09 EDT
- 29
The U.S. football squad for WC 2026 / Olympics
Will you be surprised if in the first week of FIFA World Cup 2026, one of the main newspapers of the major co-host nation, the USA, gives a whitewash to the mega event?
Yes, like hundreds of others, I was pleasantly surprised when I did not find even a single story, not even a brief, in yesterday’s Toronto edition of New York Times. Instead, the newspaper had an eight page Sports pullout. Interestingly and rightly, the Sports pullout was dedicated to the Knicks who won the NBA title after more than 50 years.
For the Knicks, it was like ending a 53-year title drought. They richly deserved to be conquerors of the comeback before re-emerging as kings of the NBA.
The Knickerbockers, an original NBA franchise founded in 1946, was named after Dutch settlers of New York city. They have become champions for the first time since 1973 and for the third time in their history. They defeated the San Antonio Spurs, again, by another stunning come-from-behind triumph in Game-5 (94-90) of the 2026 NBA finals.
True, teams like Knicks have huge loyal followings and their scripting history with an impressive title triumph, deserved all coverage and praise it warranted. But at the same time an event that is being closely monitored and followed worldwide, the FIFA World Cup that has come to the US soil after a lot of struggle and planning, deserved a mention, as four matches were decided on the day of the NBA finals. Two of these games between Qatar and Switzerland and Brazil and Morocco, ended in 1-1 draws while Australia defeated Turkey 2-0 and Scotland beat Haiti 1-0.
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US, one of three co-hosts, had made a triumphant start of its FIFA World Cup campaign with a 4-1 win over Paraguay, there are other top soccer playing nations competing in this edition of the World Cup. Their performance and progress needed coverage as
The example of New York Times notwithstanding. The FIFA World Cup is getting more than adequate coverage in the conventional and traditional media while social media, too, is using the opportunity to the hilt to spread its reach out.
Weather is another important factor impacting the crowds at venue cities. Toronto has witnessed spells of inclement weather, including thunderstorms, rain and strong winds after the World Cup got underway. Luckily, no match has been impacted by the inclement weather till now.
Canadian print media, including Globe and Mail, has been covering all the games extensively besides running special stories also. One story is about the foreign touch. It says that the US team is led by an Argentine, Canada has an American coach and Brazil has an Italian coach. It is a common phenomenon to involve foreigners both in team building and team training.
Surprisingly, on non-match days, the host cities have been getting lukewarm response as “soccer” or football is generally mentioned as an “outside” sport while the North Americans recognise and care for ice hockey, basketball, baseball, and rugby more than any other major sports.
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