Anyone who has followed this blog for a while will know that my wife Kay and I have developed a significant love affair with going to the World Cup. While we had always enjoyed watching the tournaments at home on TV, I think deep down we both knew that if we ever had the opportunity and wherewithal to go to the tournament itself, then we simply had to.
Having been together for several years, and under increasing pressure from our respective families to finally make things official and get married, we decided that finally tying the knot in 2014 gave us the perfect excuse to go to Rio de Janeiro for a week as the ideal honeymoon destination. What we didn’t necessarily admit to our families was that we had decided we were going long before we even thought about getting married. As Our Kid put it in his Best Man Speech: “If you’re going to the World Cup in Brazil, then why not warm up by getting married!”.
We saw Argentina beat Bosnia, and then Chile upset holders Spain in the iconic Maracanã Stadium, and from that point forward we vowed that as long as we still could, we would continue to go to every tournament. Our approach is to always go during the group stage at the start of the competition, when all the fans are full of optimism and hope, and just pick random games.
We went to Russia in 2018 with a couple of mates to see Mexico upset Germany in the Luzhniki Stadium, and then to see Senegal beat Poland in Spartak Moscow’s impressive ground, before being joined by my dad, Our Kid, and our mate Paul’s father-in-law, Phil, in St Petersburg to see Brazil overcome Costa Rica. Then for Qatar we ended up going to five matches in five days as a group of five. For anyone interested in reading about our previous World Cup adventures, the links are here (sadly there is no write up for Brazil, well we were on honeymoon after all!):
Russia 2018:
Qatar 2022:
Pre-Tournament
With the latest incarnation of the tournament being spread over three countries it was going to pose more of a challenge in planning the logistics than Brazil, Russia or Qatar had. The first stage of this was to work out where we wanted to go in close consultation with our mate Paul: a friend of mine from school, veteran of four previous World Cups, who we had bumped into on Copacabana without any formal arrangement, and who has since become a key associate in terms of World Cup hijinks and adventures along with a growing band of others.
An initial thought was that we might endeavour to visit all three countries: starting in Vancouver, then travelling to Seattle/ San Francisco/ LA and then ending up in Mexico. However, recognising that this would involve more travelling than match attendance, along with the difficulty of getting tickets for matches the host nations would be playing in, we reluctantly ruled it out.
We then thought about basing ourselves in the northeast corner of the States and aiming for matches in Toronto, Boston and New York/ New Jersey, however it was only when Kay and I visited Atlanta last year as part of a mad baseball-watching trip (The Orient Baseball Nerds’ Adventures in the USA- Part 1, The Orient Baseball Nerds’ Adventures in the USA- Part 2) that the final plan started to come together. The rationale being: Atlanta airport is the busiest in the whole country with excellent flight connections, and it is also relatively (well at least in terms of North America!) close to both Monterrey and Guadalajara as we desperately wanted to incorporate a trip to Mexico.
Unlike in previous tournaments, the ticket application process was far more complicated than it needed to be. The first stage of this was a “pre-sale” exclusively for those with a Visa card, quite what the logic was behind this, other than the unadulterated profiteering(!), was wasn’t completely clear.
The next phase was the “Early Ticket Draw” in which you had to apply and hope to be allocated a specific time slot to purchase tickets. It came as little surprise that we didn’t get allocated one despite three of us applying individually. The cynical side of me wonders if anyone was actually allocated a slot, or whether it was just a way of gauging the level of demand to feed FIFA’s infamous dynamic pricing algorithm?
The final phase was the “Random Selection Draw” which came after the official draw, and you could then pick matches in the knowledge of who would be playing. The catch with this one was the rule that you could only apply for up to four tickets per match. As there were six in our group we had to split into the missus and me and the other four, and hope we got tickets for the same games, even if we ended up in different parts of the stadium. Such was the complexity of the whole thing that it genuinely made us nostalgic for Qatar- where you knew you were being ripped off, but at least it was easy enough to get tickets.
A couple of months later we got the news that we had secured tickets for one game in Atlanta: Czechia v South Africa and one game in Monterrey: South Korea v South Africa – not everything we had been hoping for but at least a chance to watch one game in the US and one in Mexico. Sadly, the others had no success and had to enter the Wild West-like world of the Ticket Resale Platform. Eventually they managed to secure not completely extortionately priced tickets for Uruguay v Cape Verde in Miami and Morocco v Haiti in Atlanta.
Part 1 – Atlanta – Wednesday 17th June to Sunday 21st June 2026
The tournament started just under a week before we were due to fly out, with the teams that we would be seeing all featuring on the first two days. Mexico made easy work of South Africa in the opening match of the tournament beating them 2-0 with Bafana Bafana having had two players sent off to Mexico’s one. Then the following day South Korea beat Czechia 2-1 in Guadalajara, still we consoled ourselves that in our first match it was all to play for between South Africa and Czechia.
Originally, we thought we had been very sensible in booking a late afternoon departure as it would arrive in Atlanta in the evening. That was until the realization hit that we would still be in the air for the entirety of England’s opening match against Croatia. It came as very welcome news on landing that England had triumphed 4-2 and by all accounts had put in an impressive display, at least in the second half.
We had deliberately opted to stay in the same hotel as we had stayed in 10 months previously due to its excellent central location- just a 25 minute or so walk to the ground. With the kick-off being at noon and us wanting to have a good look around the renowned stadium, it was down to the onsite Starbucks (only in America!), and then out of the hotel for 9:30am. Thankfully the fact that we were adjusting to the time difference worked very much in our favour.
As we started the stroll up the hill more and more match-goers, from a whole array of different nations and speaking a whole host of languages, joined us. It felt quite surreal given that we were in a city in the Deep South of the United States walking to a football match. About halfway to the stadium is the Centennial Olympic Park, which is where the Fanzone was located, with plenty of fans queueing up to go in there as well as those carrying onto the match itself. Knowing that the USA were playing the following day we easily concluded that this would be the ideal location to watch that particular match and experience how Americans were enjoying the tournament.
The approach to the stadium doesn’t quite reveal just how amazing it is once you are inside, but once you pass through the gates, it simply takes your breath away. You enter at the top of the lower tier and directly onto a concourse which gives you a glimpse into the stadium bowl itself. That is when you realise just how steep the stands are. The most famous features are the retractable roof similar in design to a camera aperture and the huge halo 360 video board just below it.
The approach to the stadium in Atlanta
The view once you are inside
The concourses are wide and spacious with a whole array of food and drink options and crucially plenty of tables on which to perch while you enjoy them. The official FIFA merchandise stores seemed to be attracting plenty of people wanting to part with their hard-earned cash for overpriced souvenirs, which was baffling to those of us who are firmly in the football traditionalist camp. There are large escalators, stairwells and lifts (elevators!) to access the upper levels, but best of all is the deliberate “Fan-First” pricing structure which instead of hiking up prices based on having a captive market, keeps them at “street level” with $2 hot dogs, $3 nachos, and even the beer was reasonably priced. Definite food for thought for English football! (Pun very much intended!).
Our seats were about midway up the upper tier, the view was almost perfect except for the fact that as NFL playing fields are significantly narrower than their proper football equivalents, it was nigh on impossible to see what was going on if the action was close to the near touchline. The missus found herself drawn to watching on the huge halo screen but that felt a bit like watching on TV despite being at the stadium!
The view from our seats
The crowd seemed to be a nice mix of people with South African and Czech heritage, many locals enjoying the experience, and good smattering of football tourists. Rather infuriating was the fact that there were plenty of empty seats around us, and throughout the rest of the ground, that could easily have been used for those who hadn’t been allocated tickets in the various ballots!
As we were also seeing South Africa in Mexico the following week, we were fully intending on supporting them. However, once we got talking to the Czech couple sitting next to us, we found that notion going out of the window and us promising faithfully that we were on their side. It seemed to be a wise choice when just five minutes in Michal Sadilek gave the European side the lead, latching onto a poked through ball and firing home.
From there it was something of a scrappy affair, with South Africa in particular struggling to settle. It was only with about 20 minutes or so to go that the African side started to control the ball a bit more and to threaten. Then with less than 10 minutes remaining, Thapelo Maseko’s shot from the edge of the area seemed to hit an arm and referee Tori Penso pointed to the spot. To my “neutral” eyes, it was at very close range and seemed harsh. Teboho Mokoena sent the keeper the wrong way and slotted his effort inside the left-hand post. The draw meant that both teams still had a chance to go through in the final group game, although Czechia would face the daunting task of trying to beat Mexico in the Azteca.
On the way out, as the escalators had been turned off, it was very congested and seemed to take longer than it needed to exit the stadium. While it didn’t necessarily feel particularly dangerous, it did make you wonder what would happen if there was an emergency and swift evacuation was required. To be fair that was the only downside of the whole experience.
As we headed back through town we heard the announcement that due to the impending arrival of a storm, the Fanzone was being closed and as a result every bar on the way back was jam-packed. Relying on our “expert local knowledge” we headed back towards our hotel knowing that there was a perfectly good bar in there that few people would know about. However just before we got there, we noticed that the place across the street, which on our previous visit had looked like a far from salubrious nightspot, had had something of a refurbishment. Now called The Kitchen, the owner Gray and his staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming, the food was excellent, and the beer was cold and reasonably priced, even if they didn’t yet have any on draught. Suffice to say it became something of a base for us for the remainder of our time in Atlanta!
The following day having seen how busy the Fanzone got, we wisely booked tickets in the morning, they were free, but they guaranteed our entry. After a spot of breakfast, which was surprisingly good for an American hotel which tend not to offer too much as a rule, we set off for a wander around town.
After a couple of hours walking around in the heat, we decided that we were in desperate need of refreshment before heading into the unsheltered Fanzone. To our utter delight we discovered that the Omni hotel, right opposite one of the entrances to the park, had a sports bar with a balcony and even more importantly: air conditioning and a vast array of draught beer. Perfect!
After a couple of rounds in there watching the build-up to USA V Australia on TV- the American coverage featuring Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexei Lalas was surprisingly entertaining, it was time to head downstairs.
Even an hour and a half before kick-off the crowd was really starting to grow, and it was absolutely sweltering. Thankfully there were plenty of refreshment tents dotted all around, although it must be said that the prices were not as reasonable as in the stadium the previous day!
Once the match got underway it was noticeable that the crowd was hugely enthusiastic (well they were mainly American!) but the atmosphere was more civilised, friendly and less edgy than in other fan parks we have visited. Even when the US scored, a few drinks cups went up in the air, but it was nothing like is seen in England these days. Mind you, that’s probably a good thing!
The Fanzone in Atlanta – thankfully we found some shade!
After the match, a comfortable win for the hosts, we strolled back through town, saw a bit of Scotland losing 1-0 to Morocco in a faux dive bar before heading back to The Kitchen to watch Brazil comfortably beat Haiti 3-0.
The following day, Saturday, was our last in Atlanta before heading to Mexico early on Sunday morning. Having been there on our previous visit we headed down to the simply outstanding Twin Smokers for a BBQ lunch, well when in the Deep South y’all!
After that there was enough time to watch my second team (having lived there as a child), the Netherlands, wallop Sweden 5-1 in the Omni, then a final quick drink at The Kitchen before getting a cab to our hotel at the airport.
To be continued…
football nerd 