Micky Van de Ven slams USA over lack of atmosphere

Netherlands centre-back Micky Van de Ven criticised the decision to host the 2026 World Cup in the United States.

Voicing his discontent ahead of the Mundial, the Tottenham Hotspur defender pointed out a lack of festive atmosphere surrounding the event.

This follows several criticisms that have been made about the occasion being hosted in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.

Arsenal legend, Ian Wright had described the hosting of the event in the United States as chaos.

Apart from festive vibes in the USA as the opening match approaches, there have also been travel restrictions.

Many citizens of countries which are on the ban list are not granted access into the country. The most recent is the Somali referee, Omar Artan, who was not granted access into the country.

After several efforts by FIFA to use his diplomatic passport, the USA government still turned down the request, forcing the world governing body to remove the referee from the list of officials for the tournament.

The Canadian government had welcomed Artan if FIFA decide to put him in charge of games to be played in the country.

Having made their decision to allow him to return to his country, the referee was given a heroic welcome back to Somalia.

Speaking ahead of the opening game against Japan on June 14th, Van de Ven remarked that Americans are barely aware they are about to host the world’s biggest football celebration:

Although he sometimes feels the vibe of the World Cup, the 25-year-old revealed that he had a vacation last summer, and people didn’t even realise the World Cup was taking place in their own country.

Van de Ven is expected to be in the starting lineup for the Oranges, who have been drawn into Group F, where they’ll face Japan, Sweden, and Tunisia. Their first match against Japan is scheduled for Dallas Stadium in Arlington.