"Nobody Does Football Better Than US"

1 June 2026

77s

Us versus US.

Paddy Power's 2026 World Cup spot is a culture clash between England and the United States of America… and it's much better than the one-all draw in 2010 and the nil-nil in 2022. This is in large part down to the personnel, with England 'captained' by Danny Dyer and the US led by a game Rob Lowe, who—unlike Tom Hanks and Tim Allen at Soccer Aid—seems to know what the deal is.

Dyer and Lowe's barney is orchestrated to a tee by director Max Barden, who flits between Soccerpalooza (jet packs, T-shirt cannons, cheese fries, et cetera) and football as done by the experts (if you can go to the toilet and buy a round of drinks before the second half starts, yours is the Earth and everything that's in it). England may have forgotten how to win a World Cup, but it sure knows how to be consumed by one.

It's been, er, fun to watch the US shape its World Cup story through ads by the likes of Fox Sports and Dove, but the advertised bookmaker knows full well how to poke holes in the most overblown narratives. The way Lowe concedes defeat with our lingo is a lovely touch that puts the brand in a strong position to win hearts, minds, and the contents of viewers' wallets.

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