The Country Would Have Stopped...for Soccer??? Anthony Martinez Talks to A&G

Summary

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Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: The Country Would Have Stopped...for Soccer??? Anthony Martinez Talks to A&G
Date: July 8, 2026
Host: Armstrong
Guest: Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Armstrong welcomes World Cup correspondent Anthony Martinez to unpack the United States’ recent 4-1 loss to Belgium in the World Cup, the evolution of American soccer culture, and the controversial FIFA decision concerning US star Folarin Balogun. The conversation delves into what differentiates elite soccer nations from the US, why American interest in soccer is finally tipping, and what the future might hold. They also reflect on how close the US came to a national moment and explore the intersection of sport, fandom, and even politics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The US’s World Cup Exit: What Went Wrong

• Immediate Reaction to the Loss
  • Armstrong notes US was clearly outclassed by Belgium: "Belgium was a better team. They were just a lot better." (01:29)
  • Martinez highlights US progress but underscores the gap:

    "We had a lot of progress made this tournament, but last night just went to show that U.S. still has quite a way to go to compete with the big boys." (02:23)

Fan Support—A Changing Dynamic

• Armstrong and Martinez discuss the unprecedented crowd energy in Seattle during the US match.
  • Martinez:

    "The fans showed up...the fan support's been great throughout the tournament and I think that's been really encouraging because that's always been one of the sticking points with the US Soccer is that the fan support hasn't really been there, you know, at a large scale before...But it seems like that tide has finally turned." (02:46)

• Armstrong notes a national attention shift:

  "The level of attention to all the games, not just US games, is different than I remember." (03:24)

What’s Fueling Soccer’s Growth in the US?

• Martinez attributes growth to:
  • Widespread youth participation.
  • The accessibility of international soccer through streaming:

    "A lot of millennials and younger generation, we've grown up with being able to watch soccer, international soccer, whenever we want. And I think that's really played a big part in the growth of the game here in the US as well." (03:43)

Remaining Favorites & Soccer Powerhouses

• Martinez gives a rundown of nations still in contention and star players:
  • "Argentina plays today and it's hard to bet against Messi...England still in it, Spain is looking really good...France has looked great...led by Kylian Mbappé." (04:40)
  • Calls out Spain’s young star, Lamine Yamal (04:40).
  • Reiterates, “there’s levels to this”—US is improving but not yet elite. (04:40)

What If? A Moment the Country Might Have Shared

• Armstrong laments what might have been:
  • "If we could have gotten past Belgium and played Spain in LA on Friday, that would have been pretty exciting." (05:31)
• Martinez agrees, theorizing:

  "It probably would have been the first time ever that [the country] would stop for a soccer match." (05:40)

The Future: Can the US Become a Soccer Power?

• Discussion of potential future World Cups coming to North America, possibly in 2038:
  • Martinez:

    "Maybe by then [the US will] be a global powerhouse when it comes to soccer." (05:40)

How to Enjoy Soccer as a Casual Fan?

• Armstrong admits he’s often lost as a casual watcher and asks what to pay attention to.
• Martinez’s advice:

  "It's really just all about the movement of the match...there's a poetry to it...You gotta find just excitement in the build up, so to speak." (06:53)

Broadcasting & Accessibility to New Fans

• Armstrong notes how announcers did a good job explaining basics for less experienced viewers, comparing it to Super Bowl broadcasts.
  • Armstrong:

    "It was for dumb people like me. That made it a lot more interesting." (07:30)

• Martinez sees this as key for soccer’s continued growth:

  "You're not treating people like they're beneath you for not knowing the game. You want to welcome in people...give them a little push into the beautiful game." (08:08)

Notable Debate: “If America Cared, We’d Dominate”

• Armstrong references a snarky article asserting if Americans collectively cared about soccer, the US would dominate the sport.
• Martinez partially agrees:

  "A lot of people have looked at the US as a sleeping giant when it comes to soccer, and they know if that sleeping giant ever woke up, the whole power situation could shift." (08:57)

• Armstrong:

  "Well, you look at the Olympics...we win the most medals in all the Olympics....picture some of our wide receivers, running backs, if they decided to play soccer." (09:42)

• Martinez:

  "Or imagine if LeBron had picked soccer instead of basketball." (09:55)

The Balogun Red Card Controversy & Trump’s Involvement

• Armstrong describes unusual intervention: after US star Folarin Balogun received a red card, Trump allegedly called FIFA, who then reversed the decision.
  • Armstrong:

    "Trump called the head of the soccer organization, FIFA. Then FIFA announces, hey, your best player can play." (09:59)

• Martinez unpacks the situation:
  • The red card was harsh, but not unprecedented.
  • Similar FIFA decisions for Ronaldo (before the tournament) stirred less outrage.
  • What's new: "This happened right in the middle of the tournament with no transparency, I think is what rubbed people outside of the US the wrong way." (10:37)
• Armstrong expresses skepticism:

  "...FIFA's corrupt as hell and has been forever...It didn't look good to have Trump put in a phone call and the next day, you know, the American gets to play." (12:09)

  • Muses that, in a way, it’s a relief the US lost, so the controversy can fade.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Anthony Martinez (on America’s path):

  "We had a lot of progress made this tournament, but last night just went to show that U.S. still has quite a way to go to compete with the big boys." (02:23)

• Armstrong (on fan culture):

  "That was about as loud a crowd eruption as I've ever heard in any sporting thing ever." (02:33)

• Anthony Martinez (on soccer’s US growth):

  "Streaming...made games outside of North America more accessible. You can basically watch any game that's happening on any weekend now...that's really played a big part." (03:43)

• Anthony Martinez (on involvement):

  "For once the US had a player where the rest of the world didn't want on the pitch because he's that good...almost took that as a badge of honor." (08:57)

• Armstrong (on the FIFA controversy):

  "It didn't look good to have Trump put in a phone call and the next day, you know, the American gets to play." (12:09)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• US loses to Belgium, analysis of the defeat: 01:29–02:32
• Changing American fan support: 02:33–03:24
• Streaming’s impact and soccer’s US popularity: 03:43–04:22
• Favorites and remaining World Cup teams: 04:40–05:31
• National anticipation for a hypothetical US-Spain matchup: 05:31–05:40
• How to enjoy watching soccer: 06:36–07:30
• Broadcasting for new fans: 07:30–08:28
• “If the US cared...” debate: 08:28–09:55
• The Balogun red card, Trump, and FIFA controversy: 09:59–12:09

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Conclusion

This episode explores the US’s painful World Cup exit, reasons for hope in American soccer, and the tensions that arise when sports, politics, and global expectations collide. Martinez’s perspective provides both sobering realism about where the US stands and cautious optimism for the future. Armstrong’s candid curiosity and humor keep the conversation accessible for both diehards and new soccer fans.

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Transcript

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[US Soccer Player or Analyst]

I think we were not good enough. Wasn't our day. We didn't perform in the way that we supposed to perform or show it our quality. But I seen all that was happening around was around but I think it wasn't a situation that affect us on the group.

[Armstrong (Host)]

That's the coach of the United States soccer team which lost Yesterday pretty badly 4 to 1. It was disappointing but clearly if you watched it all, Belgium was a better team. They were just a lot better. We scored one goal and I think it looks to me like it got tipped in that free kick and that's why the goalie didn't get to it. So I think if it hadn't been tipped we wouldn't have scored any goals anyway. We'd like to welcome Anthony Martinez to the Armstrong and Getty Show. Today we're gonna talk a little bit of World Cup. He's our World cup correspondent. Anthony, we have landed on the moon six times, Belgium zero. So we dominate them in that competition, but not so much in the soccer.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

We got them that. We also got them in Super Bowls. So, you know.

[Armstrong (Host)]

Yes, they're not even close, man. Were they? They are just better than us, right?

[CarMax Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

You know, after the match a lot of people kept talking about how there's levels to this, right?

[US Soccer Player or Analyst]

Yeah.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

And we're not there yet. We had a lot of progress made this tournament, but last night just went to show that U.S. still has quite a way to go to compete with the big boys.

[CarMax Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Armstrong (Host)]

It was certainly exciting though, when we scored that one goal. That was about. So this was in Seattle. So we basically had the home crowd advantage. That was about as loud a crowd eruption as I've ever heard in any sporting thing ever.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

Yeah, yeah, the atmosphere was great. Right. The fans showed up. Unfortunately, the team's performance didn't match the fans performance last night, so. But yeah, the fan support's been great throughout the tournament and I think that's been really encouraging because that's always been one of the sticking points with the, with the US Soccer is that the fan support hasn't really been there, you know, at a large scale before. There's the Die Hards, of course, you have groups like American Outlaws that follow the team wherever they go. But in, you know, in Mass, the sport hasn't been there. But it seems like that tide has finally turned. And so if nothing else from this tournament, at least there's that.

[Armstrong (Host)]

Yeah, I. It definitely feels different than previous World Cups and not just because it's in North America. The level of attention to all the games, not just us games, is. Is different than I remember. Is that because at this point, every little kid has played soccer in their lives or, or for some reason?

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

You know, it's that and it's also. I attribute a lot of the growth of soccer to streaming because it's made the. The games outside of North America more accessible. You know, people can watch the Premier League, Serie A, any South American game. You can basically watch any game that's happening on any weekend now right there at your fingertips. And so, you know, a lot of millennials and younger generation, we've grown up with being able to watch soccer, international soccer, whenever we want. And I think that's really played a big part in the growth of the game here in the US as well.

[Armstrong (Host)]

I don't have a rooting interest really, but I was kind of rooting for Mexico against England the other night because they had the home crowd advantage there in Mexico City, and it was just exciting, you know, to have the, the loud crowd and I thought it'd be cool if they went on. But England won. Who's. Who's who's left? That's like the favorite to win the whole thing.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

You know, Argentina plays today and it's. It's hard to bet against Messi. Right. The greatest of all time. So I think they're still at the top. A lot of people solicit to make it to the final. Of course, like you mentioned, Eng still in it Spain is looking really, really good. And you know, they have this young 18 year old budding star Lamine Yamal, who's just looked absolutely dynamic in the games they've played so far. They'll be playing Belgium next on Friday in Los Angeles. France has looked great. They look really complete as a team led by Kylian Mbappe, one of the greatest goal scorers in history. So there's, you know, again, I think this all comes back to you, is showing you that there's levels to this and the, the crow is right to, to the top, right? And it's starting to show that right now, the tournament.

[Armstrong (Host)]

I didn't have any dream that we were going to win this thing or anything like that, but man, if we could have gotten past Belgium and played Spain in L. A on Friday, that would have been pretty exciting.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

Oh yeah, that, that would have been obviously the biggest match in the history of U.S. soccer. I think, you know, it would have been at noon in L. A, so I think the whole country would stop. It probably would have been the first time ever that that's happened for a soccer match. But yeah, that would have been fantastic. Right. But you know, hey, you know, there, there are rumblings that the US could be hosting again sooner rather than later, you know, in the, in the next decade or so. You got 2030 coming up in Morocco, Paraguay and Portugal. Saudi Arabia will be having the cup in 2034, so you're looking at maybe 2038, the World cup could be returning to North America and you know, maybe by then the be a global powerhouse when it comes to soccer.

[Armstrong (Host)]

So you sound like you might be an actual soccer fan, not just like those of us who pay attention kind of every four years.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Armstrong (Host)]

Okay, so maybe you can help me out here. What should I be watching? So, you know, because like, you know, oftentimes it's one nothing or nothing nothing or two to one or whatever. There's not a lot of scoring. What should I be watching to get excited about in between the goals?

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

You know, it's really just all about the movement of the match. That's the flow of the game. The ebbs and flows, the momentum, shifting, the passing. It's just, you know, people call the beautiful game for a reason and it's just, there's a poetry to it and it's really a lot of, you know, you have the set plays that come along in the games with corner kicks and free kicks that, you know, we saw the US have great success with this tournament, but it's the free Flowing nature of the game. I think that draws a lot of people to it. So it's just, you know, you got to find just excitement in the build up, so to speak.

[Armstrong (Host)]

I thought the announcers did a pretty good job. I feel like they were like, when you watch the NFL during the regular season, the announcers assume that, you know, you're an educated fan. Then you get to the super bowl and they start pointing out, like really basic things because they know there's a lot of people watching who don't understand the sport. When you get to the Super Bowl, I feel like the announcers are doing a pretty good job of that. Yesterday they pointed out some things like I didn't know, like, you know, look at the way this guy followed this guy, so this guy was undefended, et cetera, that they might not normally point out. It was for dumb people like me. That made it a lot more interesting.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

Right. And I think that's a big part too, that will lead to even more growth here in the US Is that, you know, you're not treating people like they're beneath you for not knowing the game. You want to welcome in people, you know, you want to give them a little push into the beautiful game and let them fall in love with it just as much as the diehards have.

[Armstrong (Host)]

Before I let you go. So I read this interesting piece over the weekend, and it was, it was snarky, it was kind of sarcastic, but it was. The headline was basically, you're welcome, world. The idea was that if the United States cared about soccer, you'd never get to win a World Cup. So the only reason it's exciting is that different teams could win. If we cared about it the way we care about the NFL, the NBA, and Major League Baseball, you'd never win. You think there's anything even close to a truth to that?

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

I think a little bit, you know, I found the world's reaction to the whole red card situation with Flo Baligun a little funny because for once the US Had a player where the rest of the world didn't want on the pitch because he's that good. So I found, almost took that as a badge of honor, that people were getting up in arms about the US Having a decision like this go their way because everyone knew that it clearly benefited the US Team. So, yeah, I think a lot of people have looked at the US as a sleeping giant when it comes to soccer, and they know if that sleeping giant ever woke up, the whole power situation could shift.

[Armstrong (Host)]

Well, you look at the Olympics, we win. We win the most medals in all the Olympics. About soccer, I mean, you know, picture some of our wide receivers, running backs, if they decided to play soccer.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

Or imagine if LeBron had big soccer instead of basketball.

[Armstrong (Host)]

Exactly. So I actually haven't talked about today, the whole thing. So one of our great players got a red card. That's basically like a really, really bad foul. And he wasn't supposed to get to play. Yesterday. The story is Trump called the head of the soccer organization, FIFA. Then FIFA announces, hey, your best player can play. They. They changed their mind on the penalty. So that doesn't happen on a regular basis where FIFA changes their mind on penalties. But just as a guy who understands soccer, looking at that play, was that a mistake by the officials or not?

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

It was, in my opinion, a very, very tough red card to give out. You. You look at it in real time, and you could tell that there was no intent there from Baligun to come down on the opponent's ankles with the spikes. Unfortunately, though, whenever you go spikes up, it is a bit of a risk to get a red card.

[CarMax Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

And, you know, the ref deemed it bad enough to. To give him a red, so. But, yeah, the whole situation was very odd. You know, it's nothing that we've ever seen before in the middle of the World Cup. We've seen it before, like, in this very tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo was the benefit of the same thing. He was supposed to miss the first two matches of the group stage due to a red card during qualifiers. They used the same clause they used to suspend Baligan's suspension. They applied it to Ronaldo, and he was able to play in the first two group games, but that was before the World cup, and so people kind of, you know, I don't think people were too pleased with that decision when it happened, but it was before the World cup, so it's a little easier to swallow. The fact that this happened right in the middle of the tournament with no transparency, I think is what rubbed people outside of the US the wrong way.

[Armstrong (Host)]

Yeah. So I know it was a common chant among the Belgians overturn this after their big win yesterday.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

Yeah, yeah. They got. They. They earned the right to. To troll the US A little bit after that performance yesterday.

[Armstrong (Host)]

Anthony Martinez, great job early. Appreciate it. We'll keep you in mind if we ever need to talk about soccer or anything else again.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

Sounds great. Thank you so much.

[Armstrong (Host)]

You betcha. Yeah, we hadn't got into that. So Trump made a call to the guy who runs FIFA that's the soccer organization running the whole tournament. Then the next day FIFA comes out and says the American player can play. Obviously that stinks. I mean, that looks stinks as in smells that doesn't look good. Whether Trump strong armed the guy or offered him a bunch of Trump coin or whatever can even change his mind, I don't know. I looked at the play. I don't know anything about soccer, but it certainly looked incidental. Although it they don't do that. It's not like it's a regular thing for them to oorTurn calls. But FIFA's corrupt as hell and has been forever. They've gotten caught in all kinds of bribing scandals for nominating host countries or whatever. All world organizations, FIFA, who, UN Olympic Committee, they're all corrupt. They always are. And I don't understand why people don't understand that. Anyway, it didn't look good to have Trump put in a phone call and the next day, you know, the American gets to play. So maybe it's best from that standpoint that we lost just so that that controversy is over. And of course, because Trump's involved all of a sudden, people who aren't soccer fans. Clearly he should have been kicked out on that play because you hate Trump. All right, whatever.

[Anthony Martinez (World Cup Correspondent)]

Armstrong and Getty.

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