Before the United States men’s national team took the field for the first time at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it received a phone call from a very high-profile supporter: President Joe Biden.
“Coach put me in, I’m ready to play,” Biden said when he first got on the line with USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter in a video posted to Twitter by the team.
After the joke, Biden issued heartfelt words of advice to the players, who were huddled in a meeting room listening into the call.
“You guys, I know you’re the underdog.