American soccer fans trolled the World Cup during the U.S. Men’s National Team’s match against England.
Toward the end of the first half of the Group B matchup between the U.S. and England, fans in the stands erupted in chants of “it’s called soccer!” Videos from social media showed fans participating in the chant. American soccer fans used the chant to troll England on Twitter after the two countries played to a draw.
FOX Soccer shared a clip of the chant during the game.
🗣 IT’S CALLED SOCCER
Fans across the stadium break out in the chant pic.twitter.com/f51IFaccUR
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 25, 2022
Fans were also chanting the refrain outside of the stadium.
🗣 IT’S CALLED SOCCER@USMNT fans get the chant going ahead of their matchup with England pic.twitter.com/RUUAICbgyx
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 25, 2022
Even before the U.S. matched up with England, U.S. fans were trolling other countries. Fox Soccer shared a video of former NFL star Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson leading the chant at a watch party on Monday.
Snack giant FritoLay even stepped into the debate, producing a commercial about the “football” vs. “soccer” debate, directed by Michael Bay and starring NFL legend Peyton Manning, English soccer legend David Beckham, Mexican soccer player Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, and American soccer legends Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Brandy Chastain, and Tim Howard.
Twitter users jumped on the bandwagon after the matchup ended in a draw.
“[I]t’s called soccer till y’all can beat us at the world cup,” entrepreneur and former The Athletic Soccer managing editor George Quraishi wrote on Twitter.
“[I]t’s still called soccer,” DraftKings sports book tweeted.
“It’s called soccer!!! 🤣🤣🤣” legendary former MLB pitcher C.C. Sabathia laughed.
“It’s called soccer now idc🤷🏿♂️🇺🇸,” wrote American soccer player Daryl Dike, who plays professionally for West Bromwich Albion of the English Football League
“IT’S CALLED SOCCER!!! 🗣🇺🇸” the Philadelphia Union tweeted.
Contrary to popular belief, the word “soccer” being used to describe the game otherwise known as football actually comes from England. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, students at the University of Oxford in the 1880s differentiated between association football and rugby football by calling association football “assoccer,” which was later shortened to “soccer.” But the nickname didn’t stick, and by the 20th century, rugby went from being called “rugger” to “rugby,” while association football became known as simply football.
When gridiron football emerged in the United States in the late 19th century, it quickly became known simply as football, and soccer was used to differentiate between the two sports. The organizing body of American association football became the United States Soccer Football Association in 1945, and later dropped “football” altogether.
Outside the U.S., association football is called “soccer” in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Canada, South Africa, and Ireland.
The U.S. and England dueled to a draw in their group stage matchup Friday. The game was defined by defense, as neither team was able to score a goal in a game that went into extra time, though Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie both took shots that hit the post outside the goal. The end result leaves the U.S. in third place in Group B, but the team could still find their way to a berth in the top 16 if they defeat Iran in the final game of the group stage on Tuesday.
England remains in first place in Group B, and can advance in the tournament by defeating Wales in the final game; they can still make the top 16 if they lose by less than 4 as well.
