England's friendly game before the 2026 World Cup sparked unexpected backlash after viewers spotted fans eating full meals at tables beside the pitch.

While the Three Lions secured a comfortable victory over Costa Rica in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday (June 10), many fans watching at home were distracted by the unusual scenes unfolding behind the corner flag.

Fans noticed the "weirdest thing" during the England and Costa Rica friendly match on June 10. Credit: Rich Storry / Getty

As England star Declan Rice prepared to take a corner during the match, cameras captured supporters sitting at tables just yards from the action, enjoying burgers, fries, and drinks, with cans of beer and bottles of water.

For many soccer fans, especially in the UK, this was a complete contrast to a traditional match, where fans are usually packed into the stands, singing and cheering their team on.

Watch the moment below:

The bizarre moment quickly went viral on X, with many British viewers not holding back in sharing their frustration.

"Weirdest thing you will ever see at a football match," one viewer wrote, while another slammed: "Americans are intent on desecrating the beautiful game."

"This is sooo American, sooo empty, sooo devoid of any passion that’s exactly what belongs in soccer. As if they’re sitting at the golf club having lunch, totally uninterested in the game. Which they don’t get either, I reckon," a third said.

A fourth questioned: "I get it why you might want to eat during a stop/start 4hr game of American football but come on, do you really need a sit down meal during a 90 minute game of football. Is it really necessary?"

"Only in America's World Cup," a user added.

World Cup begins amid controversy

While England's victory led to a discussion about stadium culture on social media, FIFA officials were dealing with far more serious issues ahead of the tournament opener.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino faced questions over the case of Somali referee Omar Artan.

The 34-year-old had been set to become the first referee from Somalia to officiate at the tournament but was denied entry to the United States despite believing he had a valid visa.

Omar Artan was denied entry to the United States, despite being a referee for the upcoming World Cup. Credit: Hector Vivas - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images

The decision drew criticism, with Infantino acknowledging the situation during a pre-tournament press conference.

"It is unfortunate what happened to Omar. But we don't control everything. We try, we discuss, and we will speak," he said, per Sky News.

"Maybe sometimes it is good as well to just chill and relax. We work on everything and try to solve everything. Sometimes, to start screaming and shouting has the opposite effect of finding a solution."

He added: "Believe me when I tell you, don't believe me if you want, we always try to find solutions. We are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces; we are a sports organisation."

When asked to clarify his comments, the president continued: "In 2035, I think the Women's World Cup will be in (the) UK.

"Would you find it normal that FIFA would dictate to the British Government who to let in the country and who not to let in the country? I don't know, maybe you find it normal," he continued. "Our world is a very aggressive world, and security goes above everything. You need to respect the decisions."

"When I say 'chill', I don't mean 'chill and do nothing', I mean to trust us," he added.

The 2026 World Cup starts tonight with host nation Mexico facing off against 2010 host nation South Africa in the historic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

Featured image credit: Rich Storry / Getty

The United States Women's National Team has been making quite the stir again this year at the World Cup in France. Hoping to secure their fourth title, their last from 2015, several team members have already speculated winning the Final. Social media was buzzing last week when co-capitan Megan Rapinoe declared that there was no way in hell she'd visit the "f*cking White House" if the United States won.

But the team is closer now than they were then. Yesterday, the Americans won the semi-final game against England 2-1. Hello, World Cup Finals. The Netherlands and Sweden play each other on July 3's game to determine who will play the States on their journey to victory.

Alex Morgan - who scored the second of America's two goals - celebrated by savagely rubbing her competitors' culture in their face, calling on the stereotype she knew best: English breakfast tea. After Morgan score her goal, she stopped in her tracks and brought an imaginary cup to her lips, pinky up and all. Queue the Revolutionary War all over again.

This match comes at the perfect time, as Americans celebrate their Independence Day this week on July 4. And most meme captions of Alex Morgan "enjoying her morning caffeine" referenced the period of upheaval shortly before 1776.

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The ironies don't stop there, as Alex Morgan's birthday was yesterday. Her number is also 13, which many paralleled to the United States' 13 original colonies. Even Hilary Clinton took to Instagram to show her patriotism and support Alex Morgan and her team.

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While many Twitter users (who were most likely Americans) thought Alex Morgan's celebration was hilarious, the Brits disagreed. Several comments from Englanders on Twitter branded the celebration as "disrespectful," "classless," and "cocky."

No matter who you rooted for in the semi-final game, you were probably on the edge of your seat. Viewership skyrocketed as the game revealed a familiar rivalry. Daily Mail reports:

"The semi-final brought in the biggest viewership of any programme to air in Britain this year as numbers peaked at 11.48 million from 9.30-9.45pm. More than 43 per cent of those watching terrestrial channels last night were tuning into the game." 

And so millions around the wold witnessed Alex Morgan's amazing trolling. They're likely to use the viral photos for days to come (that is, until the next best meme comes around). And that's the tea.

We're well aware athletes have certain rituals they execute before a big game.

Olympians tend to eat a controlled portion of carbs to get them through their heat or final, LeBron James goes really lean with his food for big games and through the playoffs (that still can't help him carry a whole team against the Golden State Warriors). Superstar football player Cristiano Ronaldo apparently eats whatever he likes (within reason) for big games.

Speaking of the Beautiful Game, the stakes are pretty high at the World Cup right now. 32 men's national teams have convened on Russia to see who is the best of the best at kicking a ball around. But some teams are more cautious than others; in particular, the English national team.

After the March nerve agent attack on ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, the English soccer team now faces a food ban while they stay in Russia for the games. National paper the Sun reports that security around kitchens is on “high alert”, with the team “under strict orders to reject any food not approved by their expert chefs.”

Nutritionists and chefs have also been flown to their hotel.

Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jessie Lingard and the rest of the are not allowed to grab anything from the mini-bar or room service. The hope is that they’re still eating something to get them to peak performance for their many matchups, just not from anything they perceive to be Russian made - which is a shame, because a lot of the media seems to report a very welcoming hospitality from the Russians during their stay at the many locations for the tournament.

The Sun reported: “Players are snacking on items such as sushi and oatcakes with cream cheese. Only drinks such as herbal teas made by the nutritionists are allowed." The players have to eat about 5,000 calories at five meals during the tournament, which may consist of “tiny pieces of dark and white chocolate, small dishes of apple or brownies.

Breakfast will include up to five eggs, cooked how each player prefers. Guess victory requires a lot of protein. So far, the team has defeated Tunisia 2-1 and faces Panama on Sunday, June 24. This is before their third and final group match against a potential European juggernaut in Belgium on Thursday, June 28.

As England's prospects in the tournament go, they are pretty decent. It's a cliché to state that game one of the groups is a must-win, but it's never been truer for this crop of aspiring World Cup winners.

With a new manager, a focus on young potential and a new system, there were bound to be nerves going into the first game. Against a Tunisia side that is difficult to break down, the England captain Harry Kane led by example, scoring two goals to take the team to the top of the group.

As invigorating as it was to see England's main man do what he does best, it will fall to other rising stars and even the exuberant youth to take England beyond the quarter finals. Let's hope their diet and potential poisoning doesn't get in the way.

The World Cup came to a dramatic end with France beating Croatia 4-2 in one of the most exciting 90 minutes a world cup has ever seen. Croatia didn't lose for a lack of trying: they gave it their all, and were in the game for a large portion of it - it was only after a few decisions went against them that France managed to pull away with the game.

It was further evidence to Russia's case of hosting one of the best World Cups ever, and few can argue against it.

Over in England, it was a particularly special World Cup. It marked the first time in 30 years their team had reached further than the quarter-final. Reaching the semi-final, they had lost to now runners-up Croatia in a dramatic game that left the country devastated but ultimately proud.

Some fans, however - the ones you probably saw on social media throwing beer in the air and jumping through bus shelters were pissed. Like, blood-thirsty, fire-spitting anger pissed. Much of their vitriol was directed at a pig named Marcus.

Mystic Marcus is an eight-year-old micro pig who had, heretofore, successfully predicted the outcome of many important world events, from Brexit to the 2016 American presidential election. On the eve of the semi-final match popular UK morning show This Morning hosted a segment where Mystic Marcus predicted that England would win that evening’s match against Croatia.

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Marcus makes his predictions by slowly ambling toward a group of apples marked with flags of the teams’ countries skewered into them. On the segment pre the match, he made a beeline for the England apples, making his prediction seem pretty dang certain. But as soon as the ref’s final whistle blew and England finished down a goal, death threats for Marcus started rolling in.

Phillip Schofield, one of the hosts of This Morning, tweeted, “Can I smell bacon?” The show’s Twitter account also posted an ominous tweet featuring a picture of a bacon sandwich with the words, “We’ll just leave this here… #ENGCRO #CROvENG #SorryMarcus”

The show’s hosts weren’t the only ones out for Marcus’ blood. Countless other disenchanted fans took to Twitter to express their grief for their team and their rage for their trusted fortune teller. Many demands for Marcus to be turned into sausage were made.

@nath_ward tweeted: "I hope that psychic pig that predicted England to win has been murdered chopped up and is inbetween two thick slices of warburtons, breakfast is served mystic f**king marcus"

We’re hoping that Marcus’s performance doesn’t land him in the same situation as Rabio the Octopus, another psychic animal that the world’s sports fans loved to hang their dreams on who also recently met a grisly fate (although, admittedly, not because he pissed off Japanese soccer fans).

England will have another shot at bringing it home at 2022's World Cup, and maybe Marcus will get it right next time - if he's not in someone's belly before then. Maybe don't put your faith in a ruminant animal that happens to really like apples.

Soccer fans enjoying the World Cup have come to an agreement that the loser of England v USA should keep James Corden, adding higher stakes to the game.

The tournament is now well underway and fans of both England and the USA are looking forward to facing off this coming Friday (November 25), in what should be a thrilling encounter.

Both countries share a number of similarities including a long list of celebrities that have left their mark on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean - one such celebrity being James Corden.

The 44-year-old rose to fame in England for his work on Gavin and Stacey, a hit BBC comedy that started in 2007, before moving across the pond to begin his career in the United States with The Late Late Show in 2015.

It would appear, however, that neither country wishes to claim him. Therefore, fans are wagering that the loser of the upcoming soccer match should have to keep Corden in what one Twitter user has now declared to be "the biggest game in the history of football".

Fans have taken to Twitter to show their support for the idea. One stated: "If England beat USA on Friday then they have to keep James Cordon permanently," and the popular page No Context Brits said: "England vs. USA on Friday. The loser has to keep James Corden."

A third user questioned: "What happens if it's a draw?" and another fan was quick to offer an idea: "We'll send him to Canada."

The talk show host hasn't been far from controversy in recent months, with the owner of New York eatery Balthazar banning Corden from the premises after he was allegedly rude to staff members.

The restaurant owner took to Instagram to share his experiences with the comedian. He alleged that Corden was "extremely nasty" to the manager, and on another occasion shouted at the serving staff.

After an unfortunate mistake that involved egg white mixed in with the egg yolk and fries being served instead of salad, the owner stated said: "That's when James Corden began yelling like crazy to the server: 'You can't do your job! You can't do your job! Maybe I should go into the kitchen and cook the omelette myself!'."

The comedian has since apologized to the restaurant owner and has been unbanned from the establishment, though it is unclear whether the actor has returned since.

For those who aren't Corden's biggest fans, the game this Friday might just be bigger than the World Cup final itself.

Featured image credit: Sipa US / Alamy

I don't know if you heard, but Sweden and England are playing each other in the Quarter Final of the World Cup. Yellow against red, Scandinavia against the United Kingdom, Emil Forsberg against Harry Kane... you get the idea.

Although Brits and Swedes usually get along like a house on fire - Swedes readily speak English, English people like ABBA - whenever a major footballing tournament comes along, it seems almost inevitable that England and Sweden are paired together. 2002, 2006, 2012... and now 2018, where they'll battle for a place in the Semi Finals.

As you might expect, the buildup to the game has been pretty fevered, with cries of "Football Coming Home" from the England fans contrasted by a quiet confidence of a result from the Swedish camp, but ahead of the game, English fans drew first blood with a pretty funny prank on an unsuspecting IKEA.

For more, let's go to Gateshead in the northwest of England, where the radio station Capital FM North East were in the middle of unfurling a nefarious plan on the local Swedish furniture shop. While some pranks take years of preparation for a simple payoff, this practical joke had a little bit more immediacy about it.

If you've ever been to an IKEA, there's a couple of things you associate with this particular store: really simple assembly instructions that somehow end up being an exercise in frustration and tears, their delicious meatballs, and the long Swedish names given to all their various offerings.

What if you could play around with the latter in good-natured fun, ahead of the Quarter Final of the World Cup? Capital FM North East managed it, and regardless of who you're supporting in the game, you can at least appreciate the good humour.

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Take a gander at this video from Capital FM North East, where the radio station were taking a trip through the IKEA. What are they on the lookout for? Well, it should be obvious: an indication that football is indeed coming home! Confused? Then, let's take a look at the action replay.

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Here are a few stills from the Capital FM North East trip to IKEA, which you might now see was actually a clever ploy to sneak "it's coming home" into an IKEA. Well played, Capital FM North East. Well played indeed. Some people might describe the prank as petty or childish, but I like to think of those people as "Sweden fans".

Unsurprisingly, England fans around the world loved it, and they made that very known on Twitter.

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Psychic animals, overpaid pundits and hopeful fans have attempted to predict the result of this Quarter-Final between England and Sweden, but by the time the final whistle blows on this titanic World Cup tussle, English fans would have had their fun with the Swedes, and at the end of the day, that's what it's all about right?