Oh dear. No criticism of the US intended - just a bit of light hearted comment...
It's a curious one, over here. There's always anticipation, for England, but this time it seems to be being tempered both by the controversy of the tournament location, and the drop off in performance since the Euro's. Maybe I'm missing something, but I have the sense that, at the moment, everyone is being more realistic about England's likely chances of actually winning the Cup than in the past. That could change - during the early stages of Italia '90 the team came under withering criticism for its performances, but then once England reached the QF the national mood swung right around, to the point where everyone thought England would actually win it. More excitement in Wales, as it's their first WC Finals since 1958, and playing England on the biggest stage. I maybe regard things somewhat differently, as soccer (I always use that on WNFF out of respect for it being a US forum) isn't my main sport - it's Aussie Rules, MLB and NFL, for me. So, as far as I'm concerned, the main game in the Group is against the US - beyond the group stages, you play who you play; but if the draw goes, as expected, I can't see us getting past France in the QF's.
I suspect that those most hoping for a successful WC, for England, are the Government, given all that's going on here (economy tanking, political turmoil, cost of living crisis, war on the Continent...) in order to try and lift the national mood. If England perform poorly, then that will just add to the national gloom...
