MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Mexico is the Concacaf Gold Cup men's champion. It defeated the U.S. 2 to 1 in Sunday's final. That was the last competitive game for the U.S. before the U.S., along with Mexico and Canada, co-host next year's FIFA World Cup. And it was an important preview of the World Cup for both the team and for the hosts. NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan is with us now to tell us more about it. Kind of a heartbreaker, Becky, kind of.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Kind of. A little bit, yeah. I mean, you know what, Michel? Sometimes in sports, one team is just better than the other. I think that's what happened last night with Mexico and the U.S. The U.S. did have, like, a little bit of an uphill battle going into the game. In some ways, they had played in this tournament with their, like, B squad. A bunch of the usual starters were out with injury or had other conflicts. And in fact, the team's biggest star, Christian Pulisic, had simply opted to sit out, which caused a little drama before the tournament began. Meanwhile, you had Mexico playing more or less at full strength with a team that basically is the one we'll see next year at the World Cup. Despite that, the U.S. took an early lead, but Mexico pretty much just dominated this game. Dominated the time of possession, had many more chances, realistic shots on goal. But still pretty fun to watch two World Cup-caliber teams duking it out in a competitive match. Just a year to go.
MARTIN: Yeah. So say more about that. You did find it a satisfying watch, right? So what did we learn about the U.S. team from this tournament?
SULLIVAN: Yeah. The tournament in a whole a mixed bag for the U.S. Definitely a huge improvement over where they were a month ago when they had just lost these four international friendly games in a row, the worst losing streak they've had in years. And so it was nice to see them bounce back in the Gold Cup, which is a tournament for teams for North and Central America, the national teams. But that competition is mostly pretty easy. Mexico is, by far, the best team they played in the tournament. They lost. And in fact, you know, they definitely looked worse. And the U.S. has to - is going to have to be able to win games like that to advance at the World Cup. I would say a bright spot was that the absence of some of those star players, you know, allowed other guys to step up and shine. So it was a very memorable tournament for players like Diego Luna, a 21-year-old with bleach-blond hair, lots of tattoos, plays for Real Salt Lake. Also Malik Tillman, who's a 23-year-old German American dual national. I think many fans of the U.S. men's national team, despite the loss, you know, feel excited about guys like that.
MARTIN: So this tournament was seen as a dress rehearsal for the - not just for the team - right? - but also for the U.S. as a host of the...
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
MARTIN: ...World Cup next year.
SULLIVAN: Definitely.
MARTIN: What do you think? How did they do?
SULLIVAN: Yep. I mean, yeah, so there was this tournament, then there was also the Club World Cup, which is another FIFA event that was held around the U.S. this summer and, in fact, it's still ongoing. You know, many of the games have been held in sort of like soccer stadiums or smaller stadiums, stadiums that are not World Cup venues. But at least in the Gold Cup, five of the stadiums used are also set to be World Cup venues next year. So obviously, lots to learn. I think it has gone well, though. Attendance at times has been an issue in these events. Not for the Gold Cup final, though, last night, which has announced ahead of time that it had sold out more than 70,000 tickets. I think that's in line with what we'll see next summer.
MARTIN: Well, from the sound of that crowd, it definitely seems like a sellout to me. OK. Briefly, if you can, what about possible immigration issues, both for the athletes and for fans trying to come into the U.S. for the World Cup?
SULLIVAN: You know, for the athletes, President Trump's travel ban executive order had a specific carve-out for players in the World Cup. So I don't think that's as much as a concern. As for visitors, you know, the U.S. requires visas to come visit the U.S. from many countries around the world, including some of those whose teams are expected to be in the World Cup, and officials are warning of significant wait times to get those visas. You know, the average wait time in some places can be six months, eight months, 10 months, even. Like, for example, the visa office in Bogota, Colombia, has a reported average wait time of 15 months. Obviously, with the World Cup less than a year away, some people may find they don't have enough time to get those documents in order.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Becky Sullivan. Becky, thank you.
SULLIVAN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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