GEOFF BENNETT: When the# World Cup kicks off in June,## billions will turn their attention to games# spread across the U.S., Canada.. It's an experience Roger Bennett likens to a# solar eclipse, except the earth is completely## engulfed not by darkness, but by soccer.

I# spoke with him recently about his new book,## "We Are the World (Cup): A Personal History# of the World's Greatest Sporting Event."

Roger Bennett, welcome back to the "News Hour."

ROGER BENNETT, Author, "We Are the World (Cup):## A Personal Histo.. GEOFF BENNETT: So, Roger, the# subtitle of this book makes the## case, "A Personal History of the# World's Greatest Sporting Event."

Do you have a favorite World# Cup game, a favorite memory?

ROGER BENNETT: I have so many.# It's why I wrote a book about them.

Look, the World Cup, which happens every# four years, is the spine of my life,## not just my life, but millions of human beings# across the planet.

It's magical.

And the book,## I hope, is a magical telling of the power# of the men's tournament, which I have come## to realize is like a solar eclipse that# engulfs the entire planet for its duration.

That's what we're in store for this summer# when it comes to the United States, Canada,## and Mexico in just over 100 days' time.

GEOFF BENNETT: And you have watched American## soccer culture grow in the three# decades since you came to the U.S.

How have you seen American# fandom change in that time?

ROGER BENNETT: It's incredible.

I moved here right# before the 1994 men's World Cup, which was meant## to turn America overnight into a football-loving# nation.

America then was like space to Captain## kirk, the final frontier, still the biggest# World Cup of all time in terms of attendance.

But it was like a circus that came and went.

And# tournament to tournament, the audience has gotten## bigger and bigger and bigger, also the Internet# that's allowed Americans to feel as close to the## game as if they lived in Manchester, Liverpool,# or Madrid.

There's now a massive young audience.

"The Economist" just said, Geoff, that football,# soccer, is the third most popular sport in the## United States.

It's just taken over from baseball.# So this 2026 men's World Cup will finish off## what '94 was meant to do and make America a true# football-loving nation like the rest of the world.

GEOFF BENNETT: And one through line# in your book is that the World Cup## isn't immune from geopolitics.

You write# that "Football at the end of the day is## just a mirror to the societies that# surround it.

It tells you things."

When you look back at recent# tournaments, what patterns stand out?

ROGER BENNETT: It's the joy of the World# Cup, the depth.

I think Walt Whitman,## who would have been a football fan were he alive# today, would say the thing that makes it contain## multitudes is that, in a World Cup, when two# teams take the field, their nation's histories,## their nation's politics, their nation's# cultures take the field alongside them.

And, honestly, that's what gives the tournament# the unparalleled emotional weight, the power,## the storytelling.

It's what makes it the most# profound, when two Balkans teams who've warred## take the field against each other, when# Senegal plays France, the former colonizer,## when England play Germany, when# England play pretty well anybody.

There's so many depths to the emotions that# have been experienced.

And ultimately that is## what makes the memory so searing and profound# for me and for millions across the planet.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, of course, this year, there# are some major off-field storylines.

You have## the acting director of ICE saying that ICE# will be a key part of security at the U.S.## matches this summer.

We all saw what happened in# Mexico recently with the cartel violence there.

Guadalajara, which saw some of the worst# unrest, is scheduled to host qualifiers as## early as this month, in March.

So is there# any chance, any realistic chance that that## could change the schedule or the locations# of where some of these games are played?

ROGER BENNETT: What I can say is that every# single modern World Cup, 2010 South Africa,## the drumbeat going in was doomsday, the crime,# the carjacking.

Every fan who was going,## it was feared that they would be -- become# instant victims just by walking the street.

It was the most deliriously joyful World Cup# there's ever been.

2014 in Brazil, I was there## the summer before.

There were riots, social and# economic unrest all over the country focused on## the football stadium.

They wanted education.# They wanted social services, not football.

But what happens is, once the ball is kicked, the# second Lionel Messi takes the field, the rational## and the doomsday falls off and the emotional# kicks in and it becomes doomsday, say, is nil,## cognitive dissonance one.

And I believe, I hope,# I pray that's what will happen this summer.

GEOFF BENNETT: How's the U.S.

team looking?

ROGER BENNETT: Yes, we love a dream team in the## United States.

The men's team has# for so long been a dream-on team.

It's a story of my lifetime watching Americans# fall in love with football.

Our women are## perpetual world champions.

Our men -- I mean,# this is amazing.

We put a man on the moon,## we invented the crooner, gifted it to# the world.

We have won one knockout## game in World Cup history, which is an# unfathomable, painful reality to me.

We don't know how good we are because we're hosts.# We have not had to qualify.

I can say we have got## the most talented player-for-player roster... ever been able to draw on in terms of individual## experience and how they perform as a collective.# Please God they will make our nation proud.

GEOFF BENNETT: If 2026 is someone's# first World Cup, as 1978 was yours,## what do you hope they feel?

What do you# hope they take away from their experience?

ROGER BENNETT: The World Cup is like no# other sporting event.

The sense of global## connectivity when a ball has been kicked in# our world of chaos is such a precious currency.

So you will see Lionel Messi and Cristiano# Ronaldo take the field for the last time at## a World Cup.

You will see in American streets# in Kansas, off the field, as joyous as on it,## you will see 50,000 Dutch men and women# clad in orange marching down the boulevard,## screaming to the links, to the# recs, as they bounce to the stadium.

You're going to feel passion.

You're going# to see a world of connectivity.

And I hope,## like the rest of the planet, you# will make some of the most joyful,## most meaningful cross-generational memories# that you will carry with you forever.

GEOFF BENNETT: The book is# "We Are the World (Cup)."

Roger Bennett, no relation,# always great to speak with you.

ROGER BENNETT: Geoff Bennett, you're my# cousin.

You don't have to be ashamed of it.

(LAUGHTER)