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With the World Cup going on during the NFL’s slow period, I’ve watched plenty of soccer and even learned a few things.
No, I still don’t know what qualifies as an offsides in soccer, but I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in that department. I’ve learned to hold off on celebrating goals until it becomes clear that VAR won’t be utilized. You know, kind of like looking for yellow flags on the fields.
But it’s so difficult not to drop on the floor and immediately begin rowing after every Erling Haaland goal. I’ve also learned that soccer coaches aren’t afraid to pull their best strikers in favor of fresher legs and savvy strategy in late-game situations. Like that one time Kevin Stefanski pulled Shedeur Sanders for a failed wildcat two-point conversion against the Titans.
It’s tough to differentiate, however, between smart and stupid decisions. I’m still not over the Mexico coach pulling Julián Quiñones with about 20 minutes remaining against England.
Anyway, I wanted to use all my soccer knowledge by matching NFL teams with World Cup squads as we get to the end of the tournament. Here’s what I came up with, along with mentions of the final four teams remaining in the World Cup. France battles Spain in the first semifinal on Tuesday, followed by England vs. Argentina on Wednesday.
Buffalo Bills: Mexico
This might be a little generous—and a little biased as a Mexican-American—because Mexico hasn’t even come close to what Buffalo has achieved in the NFL. Still, the similarities are strong with a rabid fan base that’s constantly getting its heart broken and always dreams of one day winning a championship.
Bills Mafia, which is known for jumping through flaming tables, must have enjoyed seeing all the videos that came from the marathon-like festivities that took place in Mexico City. Fans of El Tri celebrated every victory as if they won the World Cup, even though they don’t know the feeling.
It again felt like our year until England’s defense and star players provided the latest reminder that there are still ways to go before competing with the true contenders. Mexico consistently qualifies for the World Cup, but hasn’t advanced to the quarterfinals since 1986 and has never been to the semifinals. That’s not as painful as losing four consecutive Super Bowls, but at least Bills fans can say they’ve gotten closer. Sigh.
Carolina Panthers: Canada
I’m sure there are casual NFL fans out there who only watch during the playoffs that believe the Panthers were a strong team last year. That’s understandable because they did host a playoff game and nearly knocked off the Rams in a wild-card shootout. In reality, Carolina was an 8–9 team that caught a break after winning the subpar NFC South via a three-way tiebreaker and benefited from the league rewarding division winners with a home game to open the postseason.
I mention all this because you know there are several not-so-knowledgeable soccer fans who believe Canada is a powerhouse after advancing to the Round of 16. Similarly to the U.S. and Mexico, our northern neighbors stayed home throughout the group stage, a perk for being one of the host nations, got a favorable Round of 32 matchup against South Africa, followed by a reality check from Morocco in a 3–0 defeat. But, hey, sometimes those lucky breaks and surprising runs are the start of building something real.
Chicago Bears: Spain
Spain has a rich soccer history, but it has had several shortcomings, including a few middling years after winning its one and only World Cup in 2010. That sort of sounds like Chicago, a team that has built an iconic brand that can’t seem to stop talking about that one glorious year in 1985.
While Spain has had a lot more golden years this century, the Bears are on a fast track to being a legitimate Super Bowl contender after advancing to the divisional round in coach Ben Johnson’s first season. Both squads have a young star that may or not may have been anointed too fast, but sooner or later Lamine Yamal and Caleb Williams will be unstoppable in their respective professions. Finally, there’s more ahead than behind.
Dallas Cowboys: Brazil
The easy comparison here is the United States and “America’s Team.” But that just doesn’t seem right because the Cowboys have done a lot of winning in the past and currently have a handful of star players. The U.S. can’t check any of those boxes. (Sorry, fans of Christian Pulisic.)
Between the Cowboys and Brazil, they have a combined 10 championships, but none in the past 24 years. The Cowboys blinked and suddenly it’s been 30 years since their last Super Bowl. Brazil left the good ol’ days after its last World Cup title in 2002.
Despite the recent failures, both teams usually generate a ton of attention due to their star players, but that individual talent hasn’t led to strong teams. CeeDee Lamb and Vinicius Junior must feel alone under the spotlight.
Detroit Lions: United States
This one might not be the perfect comparison, but there’s plenty of passion and lots of losing between the two sides.
Detroit is further along in American football after appearing in the NFC title game two years ago, but that might have been just a transient run. (The Lions missed the playoff last year and were one-and-done in 2024).
For a long time, this country has tried to make soccer a thing, but it rarely gains traction due to the lack of winning. The Stars and Stripes advanced to their first quarterfinal in 2002 and haven’t made significant strides since then.
Kansas City Chiefs: Argentina
I’m no soccer expert, but it does seem like Argentina continues to be on the right end of controversial decisions, just like the Chiefs for a few years.
I won’t go as far as saying the fix is in (FIFA isn’t the most trusted sports entity), but I can see why many have grown tired of these teams squeaking by in do-or-die situations. As for another comparison, Patrick Mahomes and Lionel Messi were both viewed as the best in their respective sport for a long stretch, but for the first time in a long time, both have something to prove.
For Messi, Father Time hasn’t gotten to the 39-year-old star yet after advancing to another semifinal and being in contention for the golden boot with eight goals. Mahomes’s revenge tour starts in September as he works his way back from a significant injury and looks to get the Chiefs back in the postseason.
Los Angeles Rams: France
These are two perennial contenders that just keep getting stronger. France being armed with Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé is borderline unfair. There might be a similar sentiment with the Rams if they manage to convince Aaron Donald to come out of retirement to play next to Myles Garrett.
Besides both having stacked rosters, each team is filled with motivation after falling short of winning it all recently. France lost to Argentina in a thrilling World Cup final in 2022 and the Rams lost a nail-biter to the Seahawks in last season’s NFC title game. Also, it wasn’t that long ago that the Rams hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, winning it in ’21. A 19-year-old Mbappe guided France to a World Cup title in ’18.
Minnesota Vikings: Norway
Of course, I’m pairing these two. It’s the Vikings’ Skol claps and Norway’s Viking row. It’s Erling Haaland and Justin Jefferson. So, yes, I’m taking the easy comparison here.
By the way, if you Google Haaland on your laptop, you’ll get a drum beat as a few vikings row across your screen. Not only has this country gotten World Cup fever, even the tech companies can’t get enough of Haaland after the soccer machine put on a show on the pitch while embracing American culture. This compares to when everyone was doing the “griddy” after Jefferson hit the ground running in the NFL back in 2020.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Portugal
The glory days came and went for these two teams, but they’re still hanging around with middle-aged stars.
A 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo showed some vintage moments and did enough to guide Portugal to its seventh consecutive World Cup appearance, but there wasn’t enough firepower to get by Spain in the Round of 16.
The Steelers have also become accustomed to finishing in the middle, with six consecutive one-and-done playoff appearances since 2017. Pittsburgh thought Aaron Rodgers, who turns 43 in December, could change the end result last year, but he’s no longer the same quarterback he was with the Packers.
Seattle Seahawks: England
It seems as if the British have shaken off the Cowboys comparisons as a glamorous team that is finally playing up to expectations. The Three Lions are back in the semifinal for the first time since 2018 and are viewed as the favorite in Wednesday’s matchup against Argentina.
They certainly can win it all with stellar defense and a dynamic tandem of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who might be the MVP of this World Cup up to this point. This compares to the Seahawks’ dominant defense and offensive duo of Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
No one believed the Seahawks could win the whole thing until they beat the Rams and advanced to the Super Bowl where they crushed the Patriots. At the moment, France is getting all the attention, but quietly the English are showing they’re just as good.
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GILBERTO MANZANO
Gilberto Manzano is a staff writer covering the NFL for Sports Illustrated. After starting off as a breaking news writer at NFL.com in 2014, he worked as the Raiders beat reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and covered the Chargers and Rams for the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Daily News. During his time as a combat sports reporter, he was awarded best sports spot story of 2018 by the Nevada Press Association for his coverage of the Conor McGregor-Khabib Nurmagomedov post-fight brawl. Manzano, a first-generation Mexican-American with parents from Nayarit, Mexico, is the cohost of Compas on the Beat, a sports and culture show featuring Mexican-American journalists. He has been a member of the Pro Football Writers of America since 2017.
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