For the past eight years, England's men's football team has flirted with success without achieving it, while the women's team has made winning look straightforward. As the World Cup arrives in North America, England fans' expectations remain familiar: conversations about progressing to the final, a kind draw, and Harry Kane's fitness dominate pubs and workplaces.
Two of the three host nations—Canada and the USA—have a more casual relationship with football. Google Trends shows Americans searching for 'how do football chants start' and 'how do soccer fans know what to chant', indicating a learning curve for local supporters.
British football culture is deeply tied to drinking. Historically, fans walked to grounds after meeting in local pubs, drank during the game, and returned to the pub afterward regardless of the result. This tradition, simply called 'Saturday', is non-partisan: if a player commits a cynical foul, the referee is inevitably labelled a 'w****r'.
Chants like 'Southgate you're the one'—based on Atomic Kitten's 'Whole Again'—emerge organically through trial and error. Unlike American sports' repetitive chants like 'DEFENSE', football's fluidity, without commercial breaks, allows more time for singing. However, FIFA will introduce three-minute hydration breaks midway through each half, regardless of temperature, which will be used for commercials—except by Spanish broadcaster Telemundo, which will not air ads during these breaks.
Another English fan tradition is throwing pints of beer when the team scores, a phenomenon that intensified during the 2018 World Cup. The Independent described how plastic pint-throwing became performative at venues like Boxpark in Croydon. In the US, where $8 beers are served in glass cups, this practice may be less welcome.
