I told myself I wouldn’t write an account of our 2026 World Cup trip to North America, but here we are. When I’m in my 80s I’ll be able to look back at the cool things I did in my life, and this was definitely one of them. I wrote a book about my last World Cup trip, but this one was more of a holiday – no need for a book for this one, and whilst there was much less live football in this one, there was certainly plenty of stuff to do. Promising myself only one photo per day, I’ve obviously veered off that idea too (but kept it lean), but here’s a snippet from every day, and why it’s just bloody marvellous visiting a foreign country to follow your national team.

Day one : Wednesday 10th June : here we go

Tired after a late night at the Matildas in Parramatta, our first flight was delayed – we’d been in one of the paid lounges at Sydney airport, which wasn’t great to be honest, but timed it well for boarding only to be told that the flight to LAX was delayed by an hour. Back to the pub for another wine. Great flight to LAX, consuming the TV show White Lotus all the way, arriving to a massive line for security that took bloody ages to get through. Football shirts everywhere, Socceroos amongst others, and plenty of time to transfer onto our flight to Seattle. Sat next to an old bloke who had a mask on and was coughing – pretty sure that’s where I got mine from to start the holiday. Arrived in Seattle, picked up a hire car at the airport after a big wait in line and drove to Issaquah, out east of Seattle, arriving quite late at Joel and Gillian’s house; sat up chatting til the early hours. Great start to the trip.

Day two : Thursday 11th June : cruising

Lazy start to the day, headed up to see the waterfalls at Snoqualmie and back to Issaquah for lunch at the Levitate gastro-pub with our hosts and their two beautiful kids. Great food, smashing selection of beers, took a bit of time probably due to the opening game of the World Cup being on at the time, which we completely missed. We had planned to leave in the middle of the day for the drive to Vancouver; it was more like 4pm, right into the evening traffic. Made good time though, a swift border crossing and arrived in central Vancouver at our funky AirBnB on Union Street around 8pm. Straight out to see what was happening on Granville Street and to check out the pre-match venue, Dublin Calling. The street was pedestrianised especially for the world cup, with activations and a very cool vibe. Plenty of Aussies in town. Ubers were so cheap in Vancouver. Met up with our housemates Carla and George who had arrived earlier in the day. No idea what time we got to bed. Housemate Shane arrived too, much later in the night.

Day three : Friday 12th June : football and tunes

So, we finally sat down and watched some football! After picking up my FIFA media accreditation near the stadium, we headed back to Granville Street but Dublin Calling was doing a cover charge, so we switched to Good Co a hundred metres down the street and scored a booth to watch the opening Canada game against Bosnia (take me to America!) Awesome vibe, despite the ropey result for the hosts. Then it was off to Trillium Park, near where we were staying, to take part in the Supporteroos game vs Turkiye. National athems, walk out onto the field, penants exchanged, a proper international fixture. I was hopeful that a pulled calf that had rendered me lame for the past week was mended, but taking one step onto the field as a second-half sub I knew it wasn’t and hobbled straight off after somehow keeping possession on one leg in my only contribution. Some inventive goal-tallying saw the scoreline locked at 5-5, the local Turkiye team taking it very seriously while our ten-year-old winger ripped it up and our goalkeeper performed heroics. Some Turkish dignitary was there with his security detail, this was a big deal! Next stop, back to Granville Street after a shower and to greet our final two housemates Amanda and Adrian, to the same venue as earlier in the day, but it was heaving this time for the USA v Paraguay game. Then on to the Commodore Ballroom after a Cheese Slap for an unforgettable Cat Empire concert. What perfect timing for their tour! All the hits, a medley of their best songs and a brilliant Aussie vibe to finish off game day eve.

Day four : Saturday 13th June : victorious

What a day. I headed off while the house was still in wake-up mode to do some tourist shopping and watch the seaplanes come into Vancouver Harbour, jogging my memory of my last trip here ten years ago. Found where the set was for the world cup TV coverage and bumped into fellow Meadowbank Ultra, Professor Mark. Was back at the house just in time to head back to Granville Street. Another member of our crew, Kat, was in town for the game – talk about leaving it late! I didn’t realise that Dublin Calling had multiple levels, and they all started filling up. Qatar v Switzerland on TV gave way to an exciting Brazil v Morrocco as the beers flowed, one screen showing the whole of the 2005 Uruguay game, timed to come to a crescendo as the march was due to leave. I headed out into Granville Street early and it was absolutely rammed. The Aussies had taken over Vancouver. There was chanting, shoeys, smokies. Totally unexpected. The Socceroos fans had stepped up and this was as big a pre-game party atmosphere as I’ve seen for a national team game, almost blocking the busy pedestrian street. I headed off to the stadium with the march, and veered off to the media entry when it reached the stadium. The Scotland v Haiti game was coming up, but no one was watching it. This was party time. After soaking in an incredible 2-0 win, taking part in the post-match press conference and writing half a match report before the media centre closed, I headed back to our house to finish off the match report, the house suddenly filling with housemates who had tried to continue the party in the packed city centre. It was probably 4am by the time we got to bed.

Day five : Sunday 14th June : Forza Sydney FC

Luckily we had a fairly late check-out and I rescued the hire car from where I’d dumped it three days ago. Destination Vancouver Rise and a pilgrimage to watch Sydney FC favourite Tori Tumeth at her new club. After a big lunch at Cantaritos opposite the stadium, taking in the Netherlands vs Japan game on a TV that kept cutting out, we headed in to see what the Northern Super League was all about. Great little stadium at the southern end of Burnaby, we took a spot in the shade of the main stand as it was roasting hot. The football wasn’t quite World Cup standard, mononymous Canadian star Quinn was the star, but Vancouver Rise, egged on by a lively crowd and an Ultras home end in the blazing sun, went down 3-1 at home. Bumped into Millie Farrow, ex-Sydney FC, at half time, and got a photo with the league trophy. We were lucky to meet Tori herself after the game, lovely touch! After driving around a shopping centre car park from shop to shop for what seemed like an hour, we had provisions for the drive to Seattle, duty free alcohol and the quirky concept of doughnut holes. The border crossing was agony – over an hour at the border watching every queue other than our own moving and finally we were in Washington State. Arrived probably at 10pm, maybe later, into Ballard at our next AirBnB in the Norwegian quarter of this great city. All the football was finished; Santo and Ed on SBS then bed!

Day six : Monday 15th June : attention to detail

Up late, not surprising after a big day on the Sunday, and I was taking my time until Shane pointed out that the Egypt v Belgium game was at 12noon, not at 3pm as I had thought. Oh shit, panic. 55 minutes to get from North Seattle to Lumen Field and the casual bus ride I had envisaged was replaced with a surge-price Uber straight to the stadium. Still, I walked through the gate with 20 minutes to spare and even had time to change my press box seat for a seat out in the open with the full stadium atmosphere. Brilliant game, Egypt taking it to Belgium but the scores level at the end. Press conference was entertaining, the Egyptian press hounding the coach at the end. Great to have a practice run for the next Socceroos game on Friday. Wrote up a match report, finishing right as we were kicked out of the media centre by the coollest of FIFA employees. Took a lazy bus ride up to Ballard to meet the gang for the Iran v New Zealand game at the Kangaroo and Kiwi pub. They should have won that one. Ended the night at the Spoonful Thai restaurant, pretty much the only thing open on a Monday evening. I suggested we walk home; that was a mistake – what looked like a kilometre tops on the map was way longer up a steep, never-ending hill. Great day, loved it.

Day seven : Tuesday 16th June : tourismo

This was earmarked as the day we touristed in Seattle. I think we did it quite well. First, we saw the Ballard locks which was fascinating – the salmon ladder wasn’t operating as it was out of season. Next to the Seattle Centre, home of the Space Needle where we caught France v Senegal at a food court football fan fest. Off to the waterfront for some sightseeing and shopping, then to Darkalino’s for a coacktail to see if Graham Arnold could work miracles for Iraq against Norway. Did an Underground tour that taught us everything about how Seattle came about and how there was an extra floor to most of the buildings underground, with a tour of some of these creepy places with a fantastic guide. Time for a baseball game, Baltimore Orioles in town but beaten soundly by the Seattle Mariners. We (or perhaps ‘I’) had little idea of what was happening, but we sneaked into the expensive seats for the end of the game and it was exciting. That was enough for one day – watched the tail end of Jordan v Austria back at our house which was a surprisingly good game.

Day eight : Wednesday 17th June : relax

Time for a bit of relaxation. This was a free day; I had a media ticket for the England v Croatia game in Dallas with every intention of going, but when the AUD700 return flights suddenly jumped to AUD2,500, the decision was easy. Cancel that, and have some down time. Met Joel and the girls at Januik Wines at Woodinville for some morning whites, then headed over to TripleHorn brewing for some crafty ales. Oddly enough, the TVs were on and there were a couple of England shirts in, but the commentary couldn’t go on and we had to suffer the twang of country music while England put Croatia to the sword. Shame I couldn’t make the game, but a lovely lunch and a few beers was a great way to spend a lazy Wednesday afternoon. Bit of an odd vibe there, felt like the scene of untold crime stories. Back home at a lovely respectable time, passing over a toll bridge and the massive Husky Stadium at the University of Washington. Incredible facilities at these colleges! Watched the Uzbekistan v Colombia game at ‘home’ in Spanish over a whole load of vodkas. Holiday mode engaged!

Day nine : Thursday June 18th : day-tripper

While Michelle and the rest of our housemates enjoyed the Space Needle and a booze cruise in Puget Sound, I’d already decided to make my way back up to Vancouver for the second Canada game. I set off nice and early, mistakenly throwing a five dollar tip in the tip jar at the local Scandinavian bakery; there was no border crossing queue and I knew exactly where I was going to park – where I’d dropped the hire car last week. However, being a Canada game, everyone had the same idea and I ended up miles away, jagging the last spot in a suburban park in the middle of nowhere. But I knew the way. I took the train to Granville Street, where the mood was decidedly calm with cover charges on the doors and barely a soul in the streets, so headed back to the stadium where the march was gathering and got the real home game atmosphere. Not as raucous as the Socceroos march, which was in the evening after a whole day at the pub, but the passion was there; awesome atmosphere. Loved having a media tribune desk, was well looked after at the media centre, Qatar rolled over although the second red card was farcical. Managed to finish my match report just before closing. The journalist next to me was booked on a bus to Seattle in the early hours, so I offered him a lift if he could hack the walk to the car – good to have someone to talk to. Josh from Prague was my navigator back to Seattle and had a really interesting story. This time it was a very quick whizz through the border crossing and I dropped Josh off at Redmond, the home of Microsoft, before making my way back to Ballard for a nightcap, all the games for the day done. Fabulous world cup matchday.

Day ten : Friday June 19th : midday mauling

We were up early for this one. Game day! Our Uber XL got us to the pregame venue, Victory Hall at the Box Yard, right next to the baseball stadium and a short walk from Seattle Stadium aka Lumen Field. Thanks to the sterling work of the Socceroos Active Support group, there was already a queue to get in, all wearing Socceroos shirts and ready to get the party started soon after opening at 7am. The venue was perfect for a massive group of Socceroos fans, and it wasn’t long before the songs started in the warm sun, a table being used to surf the crowd and a shoey bringing the crowd to a crescendo. It was awesome. I knew that I didn’t have to be particularly early as media, so marched to the stadium with the crowd, diverting into the media entrance en route. This was a public hoiday in the USA, Juneteenth, never heard of it, and the mood was boistrous; plenty of light-hearted banter between the US fans lining the route and the Australia fans marching on the road. My closed-in press box ticket swapped for a seat in the crowd on halfway, the atmosphere was incredible. Alas, the Socceroos didn’t turn up in the first half, Popa had maybe tinkered too much and we were way behind thanks to a horrible own goal and a scrappy deflected goal from a free kick. The second half was much better, but a myopic, one-sided referee gave the US fans what they wanted on home soil, a comfortable 2-0 win that was, to be fair, well-deserved. The press conference over, I quickly thrashed out a match report, with half an eye on Morrocco’s win over Scotland, and headed back to the Box Yard where Brazil were mangling Haiti on the big screen outside. The beers flowed, we headed up to the Kangaroo and Kiwi to continue the party, meeting child-free Joel and Gillian for a few rounds of cocktails at their old watering hole. The defeat didn’t really hurt; it just meant that everyone was happy, and Seattle was a fun place to be on a public holiday Friday leading into the weekend. It wasn’t too late when we bailed out; we knew we had an early start for the next part of the trip. Me-ji-co!

Day eleven : Saturday June 20th : A break from the States

Goodbye hire car; it served us well, and the final journey was an easy one, an early morning run to the airport with no traffic. Bumped into former Rovers teammate Ged on the flight to Puerto Vallarta. It was humid when we got there, the sweat was pouring, and after negotiating the baffling taxi system, we found our way to our latest AirBnB at the top of the 5 di Diciembre hill overlooking the whole of the town. We took in Ecuador v Curacao at the fan fest down by the waterside, but it was a bit rainy and there was barely a soul there, so we headed into town, got some provisions, which I walked up home while Michelle and Carla settled into a taqueria, Casa Madero Taco Bar, near the centre of town . By the time I got back ten minutes later, the heavens had opened and the cobbled streets were gushing with water. Great meal, just asking the chef to make us what he thought would be good. The rain was by now biblical, and we had no intention of heading out into it, but we crossed over the road to the Pool Vallarta Cafe & Bar and got them to put the Tunisia v Japan game on the screen and we stayed, drinking cheap cocktails until the rain abated and we could get a $3 Uber home. Great start to our holiday within a holiday!

Day twelve : Sunday June 21st : Getting to know you

Up nice and late and taking in the Spain v Saudi Arabia game, we eventually headed out after midday to see the sights and experience the famous Malecon, the path along the seafront where everyone was enjoying Fathers’ Day. A bit of tourist shopping, plenty of photos, this time ending up in the (in)famous Zona Romantica and an eye-opening abridged visit to a gay day club for a quick tequila. Talk about not knowing where to look! We headed back into the tourist area for some tacos at a fancy Mexican beachfront restaurant before settling into the Devil’s Bar to consume some marvellous cocktails over Uruguay’s draw with Cape Verde. I think we were still there when New Zealand played Egypt, and headed back home with no intention of going out. This was recovery time. We made some purchases at one of the hundred beautifully air-conditioned corner stores in town and headed back home for a dip in the pool. The Colombians in the apartment below were already in there and we joined them, finishing a bottle of tequila and sharing stories in our non-existent Spanish and their broken English. Brilliant, impromptu night that finished up at some ungodly hour, with the people in the pool next door still going. Proper loose-as place, this. Recovery, righto!

Day thirteen : Monday June 22nd : Food coma

The Argentina v Austria game on TV that morning gave us time to organise a food tour that evening, and we headed out to make sure we knew where to meet later in the day. It was roasting hot, and all the Father’s Day crowds had gone – there was barely a soul about. Found a bar where they had massive fans outside and TVs to take in the France v Iraq game over a few jumbo-sized cocktails. And this was our rookie error coming into a food tour. We ordered a couple of snacks to while away the afternoon, a mountain of nachos arriving to go with our super-heavy cocktails. Rude not to, unfortunately. So, with Norway v Senegal underway, we abandoned the bar and headed to our walking tour. Ah, it was awesome and gave us an insight into where real people eat. We sampled all sorts of food, disobeying all the rules about street food, and our tour guide took us to some funky places where we had small plates of truly marvellous Mexican cuisine. Alas, as the venues continued, it was getting harder to continue. But we did, following up the tripe tacos from the famous offal cart with a home-made ice cream to finish the tour. Bloody marvellous night and we rolled home in an uber completely stuffed. I think we were in bed early for once! This was starting to feel like a proper holiday.

Day fourteen : Tuesday June 23rd : You want tequila, we got tequila!

Our last full day in Mexico. While we were watching the France game the day before, we got chatting to Juan. He was a local with plenty of stories to share, and he could book us onto one of the many tours that ran daily from the Malecon. It was something that we planned to do, but he just made it really easy, and good value. So, today we met him down at the main square and joined one of the many bus tours that were leaving from the big church. This was as touristy as could be. We stopped off at a leather goods factory, then a place in the hills where we were offered rugs and other useless things that wouldn’t fit in our suitcases; Carla even rode a donkey. We then made it up to a ranch, Rancho Verano, high in the hills as the rain started to fall, ordered our lunch then were introduced to tequila by a guide, who made us aware that he would be tasting with us and not to be shy. I know 100% more about tequila now than I did, and there were plenty of them to try, so we smashed through a heap of shots, warming up for lunch, which was on a balcony with loads of others from different bus trips. Food was lovely, we got through more drinks and by now we were playing the part of package tour tourists perfectly as the guitar played Guantanamera. I could have been back in Benidorm. Bought some of the local hard stuff and sampled some more before heading back down the mountain to town. We bought some provisions for our last night, headed home and cooled off in the pool. King George came and joined us and lo and behold we found ourselves out again, singing karaoke until god knows what time with some random locals. Great night to finish our mini-break in Puerto Vallarta.

Day fifteen : Wednesday June 24th : From real Mexico to pretend Mexico

This was a bit of a travel day, and it was a tough start after the excesses of the night before. Still, we found ourselves at Puerto Vallarta airport with plenty of time to spare, offloading our last pesos in exchange for burgers, and boarded our flight, destination San Francisco. A long Uber drive got us to San Jose, where Shane had already settled in to our next AirBnB and showed us the ropes. Incredibly, we didn’t watch any football today, despite there being six games on, heralding the start of the knock-out phase; we ordered in, but we probably should have been in nearby San Pedro square, where the place was going off for the Mexico v Czechia game. This was definitely little Mexico, as we would find out.

Day sixteen : Thursday June 25th : No goals but what an occasion

Up at a decent time, we headed out for the walk to San Pedro Square for gameday. Not too far, the Irish Bar O’Flaherty’s was already heaving with the early Socceroos party squad, but we made our way to the neighbouring San Pedro Square Markets for lunch. Great vibes as the place filled up with Aussies. Interesting to be able to see the Green and Gold Army’s Q&A sessions from through the fence, but by then we’d made our way around to the Thai restaurant, the easiest place to get a drink. From there we headed to the light rail, where an impromptu game of cricket was taking place on the track, and headed up to Santa Clara, a journey that took way too long but was entertaining for us and the unsuspecting locals. We tagged on to the end of the march, which was an incredible sight – thousands of Aussies marching along a main road, past the stadium and then doubling back to the fan zone. Incredible atmosphere, great performance from Australia, although had Paraguay had their shooting boots on, it may have been different. Wrote up the match report after the press conference, getting out at midnight, and found the Paraguay party was happening at the nearby Hilton. Jumped in an Uber to San Pedro square, back to O’Flaherty’s, which was still going off, and then managed to corral the more drunken members of our group back home. A proper world cup matchday again, and a reason to celebrate – we could now work out where we were going next, no need to wait until the end of the group stage to plan.

Day seventeen : Friday June 26th : Kiwi heartbreak

We had nothing at all planned today, which is just as well as we were late in getting up. Sorted out the next leg of the trip to Dallas. Watched the first of the games on TV after signing up for the three-day trial of Fox One, Norway demolished by France, then headed out via a Karaoke Uber back to San Pedro Square Markets for lunch and to catch Uruguay v Spain, chatting with some locals who had just come out to see what all the fuss was about with ‘the FIFA’ in town. Great vibes that turned super busy as we installed ourselves in front of New Zealand v Belgium at the one screen showing it in the whole area; side-by-side with the big one, Egypt v Iran. San Pedro Square was packed, and the atmosphere was crazy. People were watching the big screens from the second and third stories of the car park. New Zealand were just about coping until the first hydration break; from then on, my eyes wandered to the other game as the Kiwis were put to the sword. The end of the Egypt v Iran game was high drama, San Pedro Square was bouncing, was it a goal? No it wasn’t! What a finish. We made our way home on foot this time, knowing how close we were and how much of an arse it was getting an Uber. Great choice!

Day eighteen : Saturday June 27th : Eng-er-land in Japantown

Shane took us for a smashing breakfast at Uncle John’s Pancake House. Trouble is, we chose the wrong one for the Uber and ended up miles away. Still, it was good, starting the day with a hearty meal and a Bloody Mary! We really had to do some touristing while we were here, alas Japantown was sadly lacking despite showing promise, and the lads ended up getting a much-needed haircut instead at the Spanish-speaking cash-only Mexican barber’s, before settling in to Jack’s Bar, the only bar in the area that was a guaranteed viewing venue for the World Cup. Stella Artois promotion was running, buy one and get an engraved glass. Okay then, perfect punching-on juice to watch the Eng-er-land game, which was a mis-firing win against unfancied Panama. Back home to watch some more football over a few beers – after all, one of the big plus points of a World Cup trip is being able to watch all the games in the right time zone – and made a snap decision to head to Los Angeles in the morning to catch the first ever round of 32 game between Canada and South Africa. Had to be done.

Day nineteen : Sunday June 28th : Historic Canada win

Headed to San Jose airport, just around the corner for the first flight out to LAX, then it was so easy to get to the bus interchange and then on to the stadium by bus. Tried to get in to the Canada pre-game pub, Tom’s Watch Bar, but it was queueing before 9am, so headed on to the stadium to soak up the pregame atmosphere. Wonderful stuff, despite the mammoth queues for everything, and then the media centre was something else, over in a separate building, down some steps, through the kitchen backlot area, down a lift then around the corner. Madness. The stadium itself was incredible. It didn’t look real. I kept my press box ticket instead of swapping for an outdoor seat and regretted it. Honestly, how are you meant to capture the raw emotion of a game when you’re behind an inch of glass. Still the game was proper entertainment, cup football at its best settled by a late, late goal to give Canada the win. Smashed out the majority of a match report in the perfect quiet of the media centre, knowing that I had plenty of time to spare before my flight back. No transport options once I got out, it was hard to know in fact how to get out of the stadium precinct, but I retraced my steps like Hansel and Gretel. The bus interchange had been completely closed down, there were no buses as it was Sunday, and Ubers were on surge to get to the airport. So, I walked. Not all the way to the airport, but far enough away for the surge price to ease, and called an Uber to get me back to LAX. No joy with a standby ticket (so close, I was next in line) so had to wait for my actual flight, and got in at about 10pm, early enough to wind down with a vodka before bed.

Day twenty : Monday June 29th : Three airports in one day

We checked out as late as possible from our home, heading back to San Jose airport for an afternoon flight to Dallas. Germany v Paraguay was starting as we had a late lunch, but when the pilot came out into the gate area and announced that he was abandoning the plane due to technical issues, it was game on. Luckily Shane was on the ball and raced to the ticketing desk as we collected all the bags that were deplaned, and he had a courtesy shuttle coming soon to get us to San Francisco airport for a later flight to Dallas. Losing hours in the journey, coupled with losing hours over time zones meant that we would be arriving pretty late; Kat was already in Dallas in the 45-degree heat trying to get access to our property, where the lock box had failed. Meanwhile, we took in the penalty shootout from the Germany game over a second lunch, Paraguay advancing to cheers from the watching travellers and airline staff. Arrived pretty late, Uber to Arlington and we settled in for the night, George and Kat arriving back from their nights out even later. The crew was complete again!

Day twenty-one : Tuesday June 30th : Row your boat

Game day, and a solo trip to AT&T Stadium for a dry run of the next Socceroos match day, a midday kick off for Ivory Coast v Norway. Got to the stadium area at 9:00am, as close as I could via Uber, and headed to Texas Live! to see what all the hype was. Ticketed entry, so I didn’t go in, instead heading to the stadium for the pre-match vibes. Swapped my press box ticket over for a media seat in the open, marvelled at the incredible 700m queue to collect the Bank of America fan band trinkets at the Fan Fest, then went to find my seat via a confusing lift system and sets of stairs that missed out where I wanted to be. Sat next to others who had opted to be out in the atmosphere, and we enjoyed a cracker of a game, settled by the man of the moment, Erling Harland. The viking clap, the rowing, the celebrations, it was all fantastic, the press conference was so interesting, the match report was nearly done by the time we were ejected from the beautifully airconditioned Qatar-esque media centre tent. Headed to the cafe in the Loews hotel next to Texas Live! for an icre-cream and a perfect seat to finish off writing. Michelle and Carla then arrived after their day out and we headed back to our home to watch the Mexico v Ecuador game with our feet up in proper relax mode. Another fine football day in North America!

Day twenty-two : Wednesday July 1st : BBQ, Billy Bob, and a White Elephant

“You’ve got to have BBQ if you go to Texas,” said everyone. I didn’t really get it, but once the boys had wolfed down two kilos of ribs, brisket and chicken after watching the first game of the day, Harry Kane carrying England to a late victory over DR Congo, I understood completely. What a concept. Slow-cooked meat, sliced in front of you, no choice of how it’s cooked, it’s just cooked to perfection. Truly special. Michelle and Carla had headed off to Fort Worth for the day, so I jumped in my 40th Uber of the holiday and joined them at Billy Bob’s for the Belgium v Senegal thriller over a load of beers. Headed out to see what was on in the Stockyards, ending up at the massive Second Rodeo Brewing for the exciting USA v Bosnia game. Awesome atmosphere and loads more beers, back to Billy Bob’s for some line-dancing, followed by a hoe-down at the marvellous White Elephant Saloon where anything goes. Luckily Carla was in charge of getting us home – for the second time this holiday I was absolutely trashed, and it was a whole load of innocent nonsensical fun.

Day twenty-three : Thursday July 2nd : Cowboys tour and JFK

The chance to go behind the scenes at Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium was seized. An opportunity to join one of the tour groups to make up the numbers was pounced on and we headed to tomorrow’s game venue to get the full story. It was over 40 degrees and we were a little thirsty after yesterday’s sterling effort, but the informative backlot tour gave us lots of info, especially telling us where Walmart is (!) A little top-heavy with NFL info about people we didn’t know, we were denied entry to the changing rooms as they had been locked down by FIFA, but the view of the pitch from ground level was eye-opening. Who knew they’d brought in the field and it was a good three feet higher than the normal artificial surface that was in play during NFL games. Incredible tech. From there we picked up Shane and headed to Dallas itself to see where JFK was shot, then found a pub to watch Portugal v Croatia at the City Tavern over a few heart-starters. Great day; headed back to our home for the week with our takeaway dinners from the food court to take in Switzerland v Algeria. Easy day!

Day twenty-four : Friday July 3rd : Out

We were going home whatever the result, but this was a great opportunity for the Socceroos to advance through the knockout stages. A 7am start at the outdoor bit of Texas Live! and we were getting stuck into the Bloody Marys at a quarter past. By 8:30am the place was pumping, cheerleaders, TV cameras, dancing on tables, jelly syringes, this was the energy that we had seen at the group stage games. Heading off early to intercept the team bus via a scene in Walmart, Aussies were loose, shoeys, impromptu packs of beer in the street, smokies, but we had to put all that aside to get into the stadium. No media today, just a pure fan experience, and it was fabulous. Australia got a goal to celebrate, but retreated into their shell and clung on for penalties. Almost a feeling of acceptance as Harry Souttar hit the bar with our first and the exit was numbing. What better thing to do than head back to our home from home Texas Live! to take in the other two games of the day in a party atmosphere, an incredible game between Argentina and Cape Verde moving around the different bars, then an exciting Colomblia v Ghana outside over another BBQ dinner with some fellow Sydneysiders. A massive day, but no one was going to bed early, our house all awake until the early hours.

Day twenty-five : Saturday July 4th : Fourth of July

Final drinks at Texas Live! for the Morocco v Canada game, barely coping with the unbelievably slow service on this public holiday, with a baseball crowd in. We bid farewell to that institution to walk over to another in the blazing sun, Roy Hutchins famous BBQ shack in Arlington. We now fully understand the concept and it is revered accordingly. Just outrageously delicious perfectly-cooked meat, sliced in front of you and served with sides of your choice, or no sides at all! The Brits have their Sunday roasts, the Texans have their BBQs. Being the 4th July, we were determined to get out there for the celebrations, but it was incredibly hot. We eventually went for Fort Worth, not back to the Stockyards, but to a local park where everyone was congregating for the fireworks. This felt like the end, our crew was happy to chill over a few drinks and take in the country music then the seemingly never-ending fireworks once night fell, sitting on a grassy hill like a proper family. A short walk back into town to avoid the gridlocked traffic – hey, everyone drives – we turned a corner and wow, there was Sundance Square. Going off. When the Flex song came on, the ultimate crossover rap / line dance song, the whole square joined in, drinks were flowing, this was an unbelievable 4th of July vibe, and we stayed until the end, Georgie making sure we were swiftly out of there as he had a super-early flight in a few hours. What a great way to spend the national holiday. Loved it!

Day twenty-six : Sunday July 5th : Over and out

Ah, the day we’d all been fearing; the end of our World Cup oddysey. Well, for some of us anyway – George and Kat were continuing on to the bitter end, the rest of us were heading back. Late check out from Arlington, smooth flight to LAX and straightforward check-in, we had to kill a bit of time before our flight, but the England game kept us entertained, the geezers in the bar sweating through a nervy finish to see the Three Lions through to the quarter finals. Flight left at 10pm, bound for Sydney and that’s where the story ends after another round of White Lotus on the in-flight entertainment. What a trip!

Thanks to everyone for making this a fabulous holiday and a wonderful World Cup adventure. Thanks to FIFA for bestowing upon me a World Cup accreditation, great to see so many faces from Socceroos and Matildas games in Australia and around the world, great to meet some interesting people along the way. Thanks also to Socceroos Active Support for their incredible efforts getting everyone together at appropriate venues and making the party happen. The US of A may be a pretty screwed up place looking in from the outside, but once you’re there, the people are super-friendly and the tipping culture is not that bad really. Okay, everything’s a bit expensive on the West Coast, petrol was nearly half the price in Texas.

This was a very different experience to Qatar 2022. That one had live football twice a day, every day, free transport and cheap food. This one had the tyranny of distance and the exhorbitant price of last-minute tickets to contend with, but had a different culture in every city we visited. Plus we managed a holiday within the holiday to Mexico which definitely put that country high on the list of countries to revisit.

I urge you, at least once in your life, get to a World Cup. Whether it’s the Matildas or the Socceroos, the vibe is incredible, it just never fails. Criticise it all you want, but FIFA puts on a show regardless of all the shit that goes on around it. I hope this gives you a feel for what it’s all about. Catch up on the 2022 tournament if you want to read about a totally different trip.

Thanks for reading; great to see you get this far. Where to from here? What do you want to see on texismith.com? We’ll continue with Sydney FC coverage, and any international fixtures that we get to. Hopefully there’ll be some more book action too before too long. Any thirst for an A-League tipping segment? The Roar has gone for good, it appears, so who’s going to do it?

Paraguay 0 Australia 0

Australia marched into the knock-out stages of the FIFA World Cup with a battling draw in Santa Clara confirming second spot in Group D and an exciting trip to Dallas. A game of few chances but plenty of action gave the capacity crowd marvellous theatre, but once both teams had traded their best opportunities in added time, there was definitely going to be nothing on the scoresheet. A delighted Tony Popovic embraced his coaching staff at the final whistle, and gave the Australian fans a taste of Jurgen Klopp as he celebrated qualification with a series of fist-pumps and a beaming smile. And what a day it was for every fan in green and gold as they were able to avoid the spectre of a long and expensive trip to Boston and lap up the party atmosphere in nearby San Jose.

Arriving in San Francisco and heading down to San Jose, the FIFA World Cup trip resumed after a four-day break in Mexico, and by midday, San Pedro Square was already buzzing with fans clad in yellow. Enjoying a sing-song in the sunshine at O’Flaherty’s Irish bar with the excitement of the Ecuador v Germany game as a backdrop, the Socceroos fans enjoyed the attention of the TV cameras before heading to the light rail station to venture out on an epic journey into the middle of nowhere to join the now-traditional march to the stadium. The journey tested the patience of the fans, but having allowed four hours to make the whole trip, the delays and multiple stops were forgotten once the sea of green and gold was joined and the fans made their way to this marvellous stadium.

The Aussie fans were behind the goal, and again were split up into three sections, with various flecks of yellow dotted through the stadium, the remainder of the fans bedecked in red and white and making a lot of noise. A dead-heat was declared in the decibel check, 103dB a long way short of the earlier games, but the noise was intense, especially when the national anthems were played. The Paraguay hymn doesn’t have any words until half way through, so the scene of 20,000 Paraguayan fans bursting into song midway through caught a lot of people by surprise. The Aussie anthem was sung with heart, the fans behind the goal finishing the song before the music had ended, but it was loud and it set the scene perfectly.

Australia had a number of changes from the team that misfired against the United States, Lucas Herrington in a back three, Jordy Bos thrown onto the right with Aziz Behich on the left, while Nestory Irankunda came back in and Jackson Irvine made a start. This looked good on paper, and the early signs were positive. Bos crossed for Irvine whose effort was saved for a corner after only three minutes, Australia shooting with the stiff breeze in the surprisingly chilly stadium. There was a big cheer to accompany the US scoring to go one-up against Turkiye, the stadium treated to score updates and even a replay of the goal, diverting eyes from the action in Santa Clara. Australia attacked cautiously, Irankunda scampering away after a monstrous throw from Patrick Beach and Harry Souttar surrounded by four Paraguay players when another corner was floated in.

There was exasperation in the stadium as the scoreline from USA v Turkiye updated again, and a Mexican wave circled the stadium, a little early in proceedings and definitely not a reflection of what we were seeing on the field. Beach appeared to scoop a ball back in play after it had taken a deflection, the assistant referee unmoved, and Bos again got free up the right to cross low into the middle to win a corner. Irvine rolled a stray ball to opposite corner flag, as if trying to place it perfectly in the quadrant, watching it all the way like a bowls player might, before remembering where he was and joining the corner routine from the other side. The Paraguay band played, almost identical to the RBB in Western Sydney, and there was a bit of fun at the first hydration break with fans being singled out for screen time. Play was stopped almost immediately after the hydration break when Connor Metcalfe was adjudged to have knocked the ball behind for a goal kick; it looked an incorrect call, but the referee was more concerned with the blood that was coming from the Socceroos midfielder’s head. Irvine still couldn’t believe it wasn’t a corner and had to bite his lip with the officials, and the physios hesitated to go on, not entirely sure of whether they should, given the one-minute rule now in place. Finally after a change of shirt and some big bandaging, Metcalfe was allowed back on with no minute on the sideline.

A second Mexican wave on the half-hour had the crowd roaring, and there were cheers again soon after for Turkiye as they took the lead against the hosts in Los Angeles. Still the Socceroos pushed, Bos having a good effort well saved, but Paraguay showed they were no pushover when a dangerous early throw-in caught the Aussies out, Beach relieved to see the ball miskicked harmlessly wide. Herrington gave us a monster tackle to warm the crowd, Volpato cut in to shoot as added time continued, his effort not matching the approach play, and soon after he beat his man to cross from the right, but Irvine couldn’t keep the header down. This had been an entertaining half of football, but we needed a goal to satisfy the crowd.

Irvine was straight in the book a minute into the second half for a late tackle and Herrington hit his clearance straight at an opponent  whose shot was wild. Australia weren’t settling into the second half as they did the first, but when Irankunda got half a yard on his man and threw himself to the floor, there was a genuine shout for a penalty. The referee was in no mood to entertain it though, and play went on. A screaming shot from Paraguay came as the US equalised, Beach making a smart save, and when they attacked again, Behich got a foot in to steer the ball back to his goalkeeper, but it wasn’t convincing and Beach had to bundle the ball out for a corner. The final ball and the finishing from Paraguay was woeful, Bos caught upfield and the Socceroos stretched, but the shot was wayward again. When Alessandro Circati eased a ball out for a goal kick, his opponent slammed into the advertising hoardings, the Paraguay bench up like a jack-in-the-box again to bemoan the officials.

Australia needed to wrestle back control. Volpato was sacrificed for Ajdin Hrustic, and Beach wowed the crowd with an olé moment to wrong-foot his attacker. Irankunda somehow found himself free on the right to power in a shot that almost hit the corner flag, a rush of blood preventing him from making a smart decision. This was a good spell of pressure; Irankunda thumped his opponent out of play, the Paraguay whack-a-moles up again to remonstrate, but he had hurt his opponent, who was down for a minute receiving treatment. The Paraguay fans reached full volume as Bos was hacked down for no free kick, but the hydration break was to curtail their enthusiasm. An Australian fan had the moment of the night, attracting the cameraman’s eye to load up his shoe with beer before downing the contents to a huge roar. Paraguay’s wastefulness when they got into good positions was alarming, the crossing particularly woeful, and there were exchanges of borderline assaults, Irankunda again smashing his player and Bos once more bashed to the ground with the referee waving play on.

The Aussie fans behind the benches were up soon after, Bos taken out for a yellow card, and the capacity crowd of 68,827 was announced, again to a big roar. Julio Enciso dragged a shot wide when well placed; he had been lively all game, and Bos had a promising moment, playing on after Hrustic was taken out but the angle was too tight. Ten minutes remained. Paraguay had three players on the ground. Were they playing for the draw? Tete Yengi and Paul Okon-Engstler came on to steady the ship, before Australia had the best opportunity of the game, Bos cutting between two defenders to advance and curl a shot just past the post. There was time for two good chances each at the end, Beach having to save smartly before Hrustic almost set up Yengi for a thrilling last minute goal but the shot was tame.

The final whistle arrived out of the blue, Tony Popovic hugging his fellow coaches on the sideline to signal the end of the game. The celebrations didn’t quite match the game of football that we had seen, but the result was all that mattered tonight, Australia confirming their berth in the round of 32. The players and fans joined in celebration, Popovic enjoying some Klopp-esque moments pumping up the fans and thoroughly enjoying the moment of achievement. His buoyant mood was to continue into the press conference soon after, shutting down questions about the six changes to the team tonight and reminding the media that all 26 players are here to play a role. This is a wonderful achievement, it’s the World Cup, it’s difficult, and now we’ve done it back to back.

The smiling coach said that the growth from the US game was pivotal, the second half in that game had shown the resilience of the Australian players, and they would now benefit from an 8-day break between games.  When Paraguay coach, Gustavo Alfaro, took the microphone, he responded to questions about his formation, explaining that the result was not the one that they wanted. He was very glowing of the speed and physicality of Jordy Bos, mentioning the Aussie defender a number of times. The logistics of a quick turnaround to play Germany were discussed, and the fact that the tempo would be very different in that game, with temperatures being much higher. The vastly experienced coach reflected that he would have loved to have the majority of possession tonight, but hopes against reality don’t always align.

This had been a night where the result mattered the most; Australia had carefully managed the game, although there were moments when they left themselves open and benefitted from the dreadful final ball from Paraguay. The motoring performance of Bos, the athletic leaps of Irankunda and the aerial dominance of Harry Souttar were all massive plus points, but if Australia are to advance from the round of 32, they will need to be much more creative and take the game to what will surely be much stronger opponents. In Popa we trust. Why shouldn’t we?