Entertainment

From Paris To New York, The Hype For USA-France Is Unreal

By Travis Yoesting June 28, 2019
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Le Grand Match is here. Are you ready?
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It’s the biggest game of the year, in any sport. USA-France, the match everyone circled on their calendars as soon as the draw was held, will be viewed by many as a de facto final for the Women’s World Cup, and the hype for the match is absolutely unreal, especially in France.

When was the last time Google went all out for a Women's World Cup quarterfinal?

Check out our full preview of what’s being dubbed Le Grand Match here, with complete breakdowns of the lineups, tactics and predictions for the huge Women’s World Cup quarterfinal between the tournament’s two favorites. 

How To Watch USA-France

  • Who: USWNT vs. France
  • What: FIFA 2019 Women’s World Cup Quarterfinals
  • Where: Parc des Princes, Paris
  • When: Friday, June 28, 3 p.m. ET
  • TV: FOX, Universo
  • Streaming: FoxSportsGo.com, TelemundoDeportes.com

The United States is the No. 1 team in the world and has never failed to reach the semifinals. Fourth-ranked France is hosting the tournament. Les Bleues have never won a Women’s World Cup, but after their men won it all in Russia last year, the entire nation is going crazy over the possibility of holding the men’s and women’s World Cup trophies at the same time, something no other country has accomplished.

French newspapers are covering the match non-stop, providing unprecedented coverage of women’s soccer. The French, like the English, have never cared so much about the sport, even though Lyon is one of the world’s best women’s clubs.

Megan Rapinoe, for one, is stoked about the opportunity to play in front of thousands of Parisians cheering against the U.S. However, ticket sales have suggested Americans could make up as much as half of the crowd at the Parc des Princes, which should make for an incredible atmosphere in Paris.

Back stateside the hype isn’t quite as high, but it’s still massive, even drawing in the likes of LeBron James. 

How To Watch USA-France

Photo: @kingjames | Instagram

The U.S. expects to be in the final ever year, so a quarterfinal doesn’t quite get fans as excited. Casual American fans might not even realize France could be the USWNT’s biggest test of the tournament.

But the match falls on a Friday afternoon, a perfect time for Americans to take off work early and play our USWNT Women’s World Cup drinking game.

If you have to work Friday, plenty of people have offered their own “doctor’s notes” to help people get out of work early, including USWNT players Kelley O'Hara and Allie Long. 

The most official one, because it includes FIFA letterhead, comes from FIFA’s Chief Women’s Football Officer Sara Bareman. If your boss doesn't accept that, you should probably just quit your job. 

If you’re looking for a place to watch the match, there might not be a better location than Time Square, which will be showing the game on its “Mega-Zilla” screen. 

Let’s hope the big screen shows this awesome USWNT hype video before the match to get the fans ready.

Our favorite bit of hype, however, comes from the son of Jessica McDonald. Jeremiah, 7, reunited with his mom in France earlier this week and he’s decked out for Le Grand Match. 

Be sure to check back on The18.com for all things USWNT (and France, should it win). We’ll have Facebook livestreams surrounding the game to break down all things USA-France. 

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