‘This is the American culture, they expect to be entertained…’
Despite 2026 being the second time that America has hosted the World Cup, there is still a nagging feeling that the Yanks just don’t get football. Or soccer as they (and this programme) insist on calling it. They’re too optimistic. Too cringe. Which is why, whenever an American coach tries his hand in the English game, they are nearly always routinely mocked out of the job within a year. And yet, there is no denying the cultural sway that America holds over the rest of the world. As much as we might mock the MLS (and we do), the best player ever to kick a ball in Lionel Messi is currently plying his trade there under the supervision of perhaps the most famous footballer ever in David Beckham. But where did it all begin?
Pitch Invasion: How the USA Changed Soccer goes back to the formation of the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the ’70s, which saw stars such as George Best, Pele and Johan Cruyff rocking up stateside, to the rise of the women’s game in the ’90s and the current incarnation of the MLS.
While the subject matter is interesting, and the archive footage is fascinating, the choice of talking heads leaves a lot to be desired. The comedians drafted in seem to know very little about football in America, or football in general; they’re rarely funny, and they offer zero insight. This is a shame because the story of the rise of football in America is a compelling one, and had the Beeb brought in some more expert voices, this otherwise entertaining documentary could have been much more successful.
Watching old interviews with Best and Pele is a joy, as is the footage of all the fanfare surrounding the game in the ’70s (which seemed outlandish at the time but has since been adopted worldwide), but at just under two hours, there is more than a whiff of missed opportunity about this disappointing doc.
