For the first time in the history of the tournament, the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be played during November and end in December, during the NFL season.
What better way to highlight the occasion than to compare international football teams to American football teams. That is what FOX Sports soccer journalist Doug McIntyre and Dallas Cowboys insider David Helman did Saturday before the World Cup kicked off Sunday.
Some of the comparisons were fairly thin. The United States drew comparisons to the New York Jets based solely off how young their rosters are, but the U.S. certainly doesn’t have an attacker as poor as quarterback Zach Wilson.
The second-year quarterback’s poor play was on full display Sunday against the Patriots, who won via a game-winning punt return touchdown from rookie Marcus Jones.
As for New England, it garnered comparisons to this Asian nation.
“Japan’s profile: Defensively organized and difficult to dispossess once they get the ball, the Blue Samurai are always tricky to beat,” FOX Sports wrote. “They’ve qualified for each of the last six World Cups and advanced to the knockout stage in three of them, including 2018.
“Why the Patriots? It’s still tricky to adjust expectations for the post-Tom Brady Patriots. New England isn’t likely to make a deep run this year, but they’re definitely defensively organized, and that can make them tough to beat on any given afternoon.”
Now this comparison is one that is a perfect 1-to-1. Defense and special teams were key to the Patriots’ win in Week 11, and it will need Mac Jones and the offense to improve if they want to maintain their position in the AFC wild card. Japan will need consistent play from their attacking players if they hope to make it out of Group E.
If you want a player comparison, you can look at Japanese defender and team captain Maya Yoshida, 34, and Patriots safety and captain Devin McCourty, 35. Both men lead stout defenses, and even though they are in their mid-30s, they are still playing at a high level in their respective sports.
