World Cup/New York: Final Dispatch 🇩🇪🇳🇱🇸🇪🇪🇨🇪🇸🇵🇹🇦🇺🇵🇾🇧🇪🇪🇸🏴
The knockout rounds send me near (DUMBO), far (Westchester County), and everywhere in between (Manhattan).
The World Cup is ending today and I’m already experiencing withdrawals. Spain vs Argentina should be a banger, and I’m feeling good about La Roja.
This is my final dispatch of the country-specific watch parties I attended in New York City. It was both fun and insightful to experience the beautiful game with so many different cultures in a variety of settings, from sports bars to government-sponsored activations—and even a friend’s backyard. Did some of these events only confirm my stereotype of certain nationalities? Yes, but I also learned a lot about cultures I didn’t even know had communities in this city.
Ultimately, I watched the World Cup with 24 of 48 countries, plus several repeats. Stopping me from getting to more: a day job, non-footie commitments, a heatwave, and general exhaustion after the Round of 32. (As you’ll see below I was managing double headers for nearly an entire week and that burnt me out.) Plus, as we got to the quarterfinals, I couldn’t bring myself to go to a place where everyone would be rooting for Argentina or France. But I’m pretty happy with where I ended up. Maybe I’ll try this again during next year’s Women’s World Cup.
Since I fell behind with posting these and this is the last possible moment to publish, there’s a lot of ground to cover and there are lots of pictures, so this will get cut off in your email client. There’s some good stuff towards the end that I hope doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
But first, some service journalism.
Where To Watch the World Cup Final if You Also Want to Eat Great Food
I’ll be at my cousin’s place, but if you haven’t settled on your viewing plans yet, these four venues will have good vibes and even better food.
Easy Lover (Williamsburg)
Friend of the newsletter Jenn de la Vega is offering hot dogs inspired by the finalists. For Spain, a pan con tomate dog. For Argentina, choripan with red chimichurri. Glizzies available from 1 PM til sell out.
Del Rocio at The Gibson (Williamsburg)
This Ecuadorian pop-up, located in the backyard of a neighborhood saloon, was where I had my favorite meal of this entire endeavor. Sadly, their time in this space comes to an end today (they are actively seeking a new venue). With the game playing outside on big flatscreens, it’ll be a final hurrah to remember.
Japan Village at Industry City (Sunset Park)
If munching on handrolls is more your speed, the Japan Village courtyard will be one of many venues showing the match in the Industry City complex.
Arellano Pandesal at Wild East Brewing (Gowanus)
One of my favorite breweries is bringing in this venerable Filipino-American bakery. They’ll be slinging chicken salad sandwiches, served in a toasted pandesal roll, along with ensaymadas and other pastries.
If you’re looking for a country-specific gathering: the Spaniards will congregate at La Nacional (Chelsea). Indoor seats are sold out but sidewalk seating opens at 11:30. (These overflow bars will have no cover & allow you to bring in La Nacional’s tapas: Flannery’s, One Trick Pony, Beer Dispensary.)
Messi fans should head to the Argentinian enclave in Elmhurst, where a trio of restaurants (El Gauchito, La Esquina Criolla, and Rio de la Plata) will be closing the street in between them.
In case you missed it, click here to see my previous dispatches.
Round of 32
#17: Germany 🇩🇪
Date: Monday, June 29
Location: Adidas Home of Soccer (DUMBO)
Versus: Paraguay 🇵🇾
Result: 1-1 (Penalties 3-4) Loss
Adidas is a German company so this counts. Pretty cool to watch footie underneath the Manhattan Bridge! The 3,500 capacity venue typically sells out but it was fairly empty on this Monday afternoon. Most attendees were Germany supporters, with a few Brazilian holdovers from their earlier victory. Other nations represented: France, Morocco, Colombia, Spain, Messi. It’s well-furnished, with plenty of bathrooms, beer, and a massive LED screen. You can buy jerseys at full price, if you want. (That said, their retro USA collection is now discounted!)
I left my Germany socks at home, which probably caused their shocking loss to Paraguay. Another friend was at Loreley Beer Garden and she said “it was just silent.”
#18: Netherlands 🇳🇱
Date: Monday, June 29
Location: Ernst’s backyard (Mamaroneck)
Versus: Morocco 🇲🇦
Result: 1-1 (Penalties 2-3) Loss
An old friend of mine is Dutch Moroccan. Farid now lives upstate with his wife and baby. His neighbor Ernst—also from the Netherlands—was hosting a party in his backyard. Mamaroneck is a long way from Bed Stuy, but it was a good excuse to catch up with Farid. (Another friend was down to make the journey with me, and I appreciate his equal level of insanity.) Plus it was good for the bit. It was a lovely night, sipping on Holland Lager (an Aldi house brand superior to Heineken) and knocking back Jäger Orange (surprisingly palatable). Someone called the cops on us because Ernst was blasting Dutch music during halftime. Ah, the suburbs!
“No matter who wins,” Farid said on our walk over, “half of me will feel good, half of me will feel bad.” That said, he was rooting for the Netherlands while the rest of his family in Amsterdam was riding hard for Morocco. After the game was over—the Dutch lost—he was getting torched in the family group chat. “I can’t come home again,” he groaned.
#19: Sweden 🇸🇪
Date: Tuesday, June 30
Location: Kabin (West Village)
Versus: France 🇫🇷
Result: 0-3 Loss
This cocktail bar is actually Norwegian in origin, but owing to a lack of Swedish establishments in the city they adopted their Scandi brothers for this tournament. (Unfortunately, IKEA doesn’t have a TV showroom.) When I arrived there were a few holdovers from Norway’s victory earlier in the day but the red shirts in the room were soon replaced with blue and yellow. It was a friendly crowd, and as the match began a gaggle of Swedes began chanting in front of the largest screen.
Having pre-emptively reserved a big table—even before these matchups were confirmed—I was with a party of eight which meant we could go big. Among the specials was the Viking Bowl: six beers and a 1.5 liter carafe of their aquavit caipirinha. It comes in a pool float filled with ice. We ended up ordering three of them. Also on offer were fish and chips, with beer-battered Norwegian salmon. (Certainly better than Swedish fish!)
As for the game itself, it turned out to be quite a thrashing from France. It’s the third watch party in a row where the team lost and I start thinking I’m the kiss of death.
#20: Ecuador 🇪🇨
Date: Tuesday, June 30
Location: Del Rocio pop-up at The Gibson (Williamsburg)
Versus: Mexico 🇲🇽
Result: 0-2 Loss
Working in a backyard shipping container, Del Rocio churns out a variety of Ecuadorian classics. Llapingacho, a grilled potato pancake, is served with longaniza and Andean corn kernels. Tortillas made from green plantains, filled with your choice of protein. Steak fries topped with chimichurri. I’ve been eating very well on this journey but if I had to pick, this was the best meal I had.
I was still drunk from the Sweden game so I fell asleep during the first half, but I wasn’t the only one who found the game to be listless; a lot of people left at halftime.
(I was planning on hitting up a Bosnian restaurant for their match against the US but I was really exhausted so I stayed in and made ćevapi hot dogs. Fortunately my local supermarket sold jarred ajvar.)
#21: Spain 🇪🇸
Date: Thursday, July 2
Location: La Nacional (Chelsea)
Versus: Austria 🇦🇹
Result: 3-0 Win
This day marked the beginning of a massive 4th of July heatwave, one of the worst I’ve encountered in my years of living here. I was worried my polyester knockoff shirt would melt. Fortunately, La Nacional had an ample number of indoor seats across their basement restaurant and upstairs event space. At one point the TV showed Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, and Rosalía in the stands and that earned big cheers from this crowd, which skewed older. Some brought their children.
La Nacional is run by the Spanish Benevolent Society, and the cash bar certainly felt charitable. All drinks were $5, including Estrella Galicia (the superior Estrella beer!) and tinto de verano. For $10 apiece you could get a bocadillo jamón y queso or a wedge of tortilla, among other classic tapas.
#22: Portugal 🇵🇹
Date: Thursday, July 2
Location: Portugal House at Time Out Market New York (DUMBO)
Versus: Croatia 🇭🇷
Result: 2-1 Win
The Portuguese tourism board, in collaboration with the national football team, took over the indoor rooftop space at this DUMBO food hall. With gorgeous views of the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges just outside and the sun setting towards the end, it was prime real estate. And man, Portugal showed up. I got here two hours early and it was already standing room only. There were raucous chants and drumming—it felt like I was in the stadium—and while I didn’t want to root for Ronaldo, the fans here won me over. If you remember the crazy end to this match, you can imagine how it played in this room packed with hundreds of Portugal supporters.
Imported Sagres cerveja was below average, but the food offerings were not. The requisite pastéis de nata were top class, and I savored a rare opportunity to enjoy bifana, a delightful pork sandwich.
#23: Australia 🇦🇺
Date: Friday, July 3
Location: Old Mates Pub (FiDi)
Versus: Egypt 🇪🇬
Result: 1-1 (Penalties 2-4) Loss
Supporters of the Socceroos were out in full force on this holiday morning. People here asked me about my little notebook, which no one has done until now. Aussies are just outgoing like that and they’re eager to chat with me about their culture. What makes Old Mates special to many of them is how it reflects all of Australia, rather than just the biggest cities of Sydney or Melbourne.
In town for Fleet Week, the Royal Australian Navy Band dropped in for a pre-game performance, which began with a droning didgeridoo piece (so that’s what it sounds like) and ended with a singalong to “Waltzing Matilda,” which I could have mistaken for the national anthem.
I sampled a handful of Aussie beers, which were serviceable; the expats cautioned that their personal faves weren’t on the menu. An older gentleman advised me to eat my meat pie with my bare hands, which was the right move.
Egypt scored an early goal, but that didn’t make people particularly tense. It was parties like this that made me feel like I was at the game. Chants rang out constantly, just like the English. Pints of Guinness were chugged like there was no tomorrow. One bloke was barefoot in the pub. It was a blast, even if everyone’s body heat made the HVAC ducts glisten with sweat. I had never seen such good vibes while a team was down a goal. But as they say down under, “she’ll be right, mate.”
And indeed, she will! The Socceroos evened the score and it was bedlam. It was only during extra time that folks got nervous and when it got to penalties, I knew I’d be about to witness a legendary celebration or a suicide watch. It wound up being the latter, and as everyone glumly filed out the bar put on “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”
I had to quickly rebound because I wanted to hit up the Cabo Verde watch party for their match against Argentina. That turned out to be a legendary affair, as I covered in the previous dispatch.
Round of 16
#24: Paraguay 🇵🇾
Date: Saturday, July 4
Location: I Love Paraguay (Sunnyside)
Versus: France 🇫🇷
Result: 0-1 Loss
With just 56 seats, I Love Paraguay represents the small but mighty Paraguayan community in Queens. People were dancing at halftime to local rock anthems, and at the start of the second people began chanting “Sí se puede!”
This turned out to be an infamous match, with Paraguay playing by street rules and the ref looking away as they hacked and chopped at the French. I was sitting in one of the only places where this behavior was tolerated.
Fortunately, the food was unimpeachable. The highlight of the traditional street foods I sampled was mbeju, a yuca flatbread mixed with cheese. There is also a house pilsner, brewed with sweet corn just as it’s done back home. It might have been the heat but I think it was one of the best beers I’ve ever had.
Bonus: World Cup Watch Party
I turned my apartment into a sports bar and made fusion dishes for the day’s games. For Brazil vs Norway I made smoked salmon coxinhas, which got the approval from my Brazilian guests. For Mexico vs England, a carne asada in the style of a Sunday Roast: marinated tri-tip was seared and finished in the oven, served with roasted carrots and onions, refried bean “mash,” Yorkshire pudding, and salsa verde.
Bonus: Belgium 🇧🇪 Again
Date: Monday, July 6
Location: BXL Café (Times Square)
Versus: United States 🇺🇸
Result: 4-1 Win
Another infamous match, thanks to Trump’s intervention in that Balogun red card. This watch party featured by far the densest crowd I’ve had to navigate. And man, people were fired up. One American said, a little too wokely, that he came here from Jersey just to root against Team USA. There was jeering any time Balogun appeared on screen, with only Infantino garnering louder boos.
After the Belgians scored their first goal, the stream froze and we joked that Trump must have cut the internet. It took some time to get back online, which did reduce the overcrowding. Fortunately, the connection was stable during the second half.
At one point a few members of the US Navy walked in—Fleet Week!—and either reading the room or unable to find any, they left pretty quickly. But one guy gamely allowed someone to draw the Belgian flag on his cheek.
The end of the match brought on a veritable Fête de la Belgique. After waving goodbye to the Americans and singing along to “We Are the Champions,” a dance party broke out. It was still going strong when I left 30 minutes later.
Quarterfinals
Bonus: Spain 🇪🇸 Again
Date: Friday, July 10
Location: Socarrat Paella Bar (Chelsea)
Versus: Belgium 🇧🇪
Result: 2-1 Win
My two favorite teams were playing each other 🙁 Good paella though.
Semifinals
Bonus: England 🏴 Again
Date: Wednesday, July 15
Location: Fancyfree (Fort Greene)
Versus: Argentina 🇦🇷
Result: 1-3 Loss (Extra Time)
Before doors opened, John Turturro was having lunch here by himself. It was odd he didn’t stick around for the game but maybe he knew that England would stink. Happy hour pricing applied, which was dangerous. Unlike the watch party at The Red Lion, it was too tense for any chanting. Didn’t help that it was hot outside and inside, our plastic cups sweating as profusely as we are.
It was a sad affair, and a consolatory singalong to “Hey Jude” did little to lift spirits. We all wanted to sing “Wonderwall.”
A few days later, I was going to come back to watch England’s third-place match against France. But the torrential thunderstorm made me change my mind. Knowing what we know now—it was a deliriously chaotic goal fest that England won 6 to 4—I obviously should not have wussed out.
Ultimate record:
Group stage: 7-6-3
Knockout round, excluding repeats: 2-6 (Yikes!)
Repeats: 2-2