event in Washington
National coach describes World Cup draw as a “freak show”
12/06/2025 – 11:09 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
The show for the World Cup draw in the USA lasted several hours. And not everyone present liked it.
Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger, the Village People, Kevin Hart, Heidi Klum – yesterday’s World Cup draw featured many familiar faces. The show lasted several hours at the Kennedy Center in the US capital Washington. It was a bit too much for the Norwegian national coach Ståle Solbakken. “It was a freak show in several respects. I have to be honest,” he told TV station NRK.
The head of the Norwegian Football Association, Lise Klaveness, was also critical. “We must remain vigilant, remain committed and ensure that Fifa focuses on football and not on matters like this,” she told media representatives.
England coach Thomas Tuchel was a little more relaxed. However, he told the BBC: “It’s not that I don’t like it. But of course we could have done it without all the trappings. We don’t need it. But of course it’s a big stage and big entertainment. I was aware that today it’s not just about football.”
The English media was far more critical than the English national coach. The Guardian, for example, said: “It was about as exciting as reading a dictionary or following the election results from North Korea. After all, Donald Trump won the first FIFA Peace Prize in a kitschy and ostentatious World Cup draw that was all about the most valuable ego in the world.”
But everyone involved seems to agree on one thing: they will be happy when the ball rolls at the World Cup next summer from June 11th and the show moves aside a bit.