AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The men's FIFA World Cup is down to its final four. And whether you've followed soccer your whole life or just got swept up in this tournament, chances are that there has been at least one match that has left you wondering, well, how did that just happen? Well now, as France, Spain, England and Argentina prepare for the semifinals, millions of fans are gathering in host cities across the U.S. to soak it all in.
And one person who has been watching it all unfold up close is CBS sports commentator Nico Cantor. He has been traveling to all 11 U.S. host cities in an RV, meeting fans and taking the pulse of this World Cup all along the way. Nico Cantor joins us now in his RV en route from Miami to Atlanta, and Atlanta is where England and Argentina meet on Wednesday. Nico, welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
NICO CANTOR: Ailsa, hi. Thank you for having me.
CHANG: Oh, it's so good to have you again. OK, so I want to get to this whole RV experience that you've been having, but I want to talk about the games first. It's been pretty dicey for Argentina more than once during this entire tournament. But they keep on surviving. What do you make of this team's resilience?
CANTOR: Ailsa, I think Argentina is very champion-coded because, of course, they're the defending champions from 2022. But beyond that, they also won two continental titles. The Copa America was - it's the premier international continental tournament of South America. So this is a very experienced group that knows what it's like...
CHANG: Yeah.
CANTOR: ...To win a championship. I would say that this is their most questionable run because of the quality of play.
CHANG: Yeah.
CANTOR: It hasn't been the best, and they haven't really faced top-tier opposition. So a championship mentality can only get you so long. Argentina needs to show an increase in...
CHANG: Totally.
CANTOR: ...Collective quality.
CHANG: OK. Well, on the other side is France and Spain. And the star on the French team, Kylian Mbappe, I mean, he has been sensational this entire tournament, scoring his 20th World Cup goal. But of course, Spain has this incredible teamwork. Which team has the advantage, you think?
CANTOR: I think Spain actually comes in as underdogs here in this one, Ailsa, because they, too, actually haven't been all that convincing, although they've shown edge to get to this stage. You mentioned Kylian Mbappe. He's en route to possibly become the best World Cup player of all time. Twenty World Cup goals in 20 World Cup games...
CHANG: Wow.
CANTOR: ...In just his third World Cup are astonishing numbers. I think there's a podium of World Cup greats. It's Pele, Mbappe and Messi. And between those three, I think we could be talking about the World Cup greatest-of-all-time players.
CHANG: OK. Well, Nico, you have been traveling to all 11 host cities in America. Which city has given you, like, the strongest sense that this World Cup experience is taking hold in the U.S.?
CANTOR: The answer's either Kansas City or Seattle, two cities that you wouldn't really think are these international World Cup metropolises. But in Seattle, in Pike's Place, the historic market that they have...
CHANG: Yeah.
CANTOR: ...You could feel, like, the world descended onto that place. And people were walking about in their jerseys, talking multiple languages, seeing the sights in Kansas City. I didn't know that it had this great immigrant history of soccer, immigrants - second, third generations from the Balkans - that have their own soccer teams that have attributed to this beautiful mosaic of Kansas City immigrant soccer culture. The Mexicans, the watch parties were incredible.
CHANG: Oh, I love that.
CANTOR: There's a little bit of everything in Kansas City that attribute to an incredible, insatiable hunger for soccer in this country.
CHANG: I love that so much. Well, I do want to mention that your dad, Andres Cantor, is, like, a legendary Telemundo soccer announcer. His voice - I mean, you do it for me. You do it for me, Nico. When he announces a goal - when your dad announces a goal, it is, like, synonymous with the sound of the game. Can you even do it? Come on.
CANTOR: I can try. I don't...
CHANG: (Laughter).
CANTOR: ...Even know if - OK.
CHANG: OK, you go, I go.
CANTOR: One.
CHANG: Two.
CANTOR: Two.
CHANG: Three.
CANTOR: Three.
AILSA CHANG AND NICO CANTOR: (Impersonating Andres Cantor) Gooooooooooooooooooooo (ph)...
CANTOR: ...Ooooooooal (ph) (laughter).
CHANG: ...Ooooooooooooooh (ph) - oh, come on. You had to have more air in there (ph).
CANTOR: Well done. Hey.
CHANG: (Laughter).
CANTOR: You should ask Telemundo for a job. NPR, come on.
(LAUGHTER)
CHANG: That is CBS Sports' Nico Cantor. Thank you so much again, Nico. It is such a true joy to talk to you.
CANTOR: Ailsa, thank you very much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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