American Fiasco - Podcast Rankings and reviews

Fascinating exploration into the dark heart of the USMNT’s failed 1998 World Cup bid, by the always entertaining Roger Bennett. Eerily foreshadows the 2022 USMNT scandal. Highly recommended.

I followed the USMNT since Italia ‘90, only being able to spectate what was a third class sport in the US. With little media coverage through the MLS era, we had no idea what was going on in the training camps and locker rooms. Roger Bennet blows the lid off this pre-MLS era and delivers the scarcely heard stories from the USMNT golden generation. Excellent production, research and interviews.

I came across this on a recommendation and I binged it all in one day. The host is lively and funny, with his “outsider looking in” perspective as a Brit that had moved to the US. The podcast tells a story of how a rise of an underdog US soccer team was seemingly brought down by one bad decision after another. I wish he had gone even further with the tough questions during the interviews with the key played and especially the coach. I will be purchasing the book to find out more details because I want to understand what type of thinking drove those mistakes.
Overall, fun to listen to and I was pulled into the drama of this team. Highly recommend!!!

Quick, easy, fun, informative, and filled with first hand accounts. Excellent listen!