English legend Alan Shearer.
On Tuesday afternoon, the MetLife Stadium media centre in East Rutherford, New Jersey, recorded unusual activity.
One man seemed to attract uncommon interest from journalists at a certain table in the depths of the giant, tented structure.
Journalists are, by nature, hard to impress and are taught to treat every incident with scepticism. They strip away every layer of the narrative to get to the truth.
Well, on this afternoon, a true exponent of the game — albeit a retired one — was in their midst: English football hero Alan Shearer.
English legend Alan Shearer.
Several journalists made their way excitedly to the retired England great for a quick word of admiration and the inevitable selfie.
Shearer, of course, is the all-time top scorer in the English Premier League, having scored 260 goals. He played for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United, winning three consecutive Golden Boot awards in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
So, what does he think of Africa's chances of winning the 2026 Fifa World Cup?
It's a question he's been asked, many times before. “The number of African players in the top European leagues shows they are capable. The teams are improving,” he said.
Debutants Cape Verde demonstrated this with a gritty 0–0 draw against overwhelming pre-match favourites Spain on Monday, while Morocco outplayed Brazil, only to draw 1–1 on Saturday, and Côte d'Ivoire stunned Ecuador 1–0.
Shearer, who captained England in the 1998 World Cup, believes that his country could challenge for the title, but that it would ultimately be out of their reach.
“I think with the talent that we have, success is winning. But when you consider who you’re up against — Spain, France, Brazil, Argentina or maybe Portugal — I think that, the deeper you go into the tournament, the more you realise that there are squads better than England,” Reuters quoted him as saying on June 5.
Alan Shearer during an English Premier League soccer match.
So, what was this former athlete doing in a World Cup media centre? Shearer is one of 18 football pundits that the BBC has hired for its World Cup coverage.
The former striker was probably at the media centre to do some research for his next punditry work.
England, winners in 1966, face familiar opponents Croatia in Boston on Tuesday.
Other matches on this day include Uzbekistan versus Colombia in Mexico City, Portugal versus Côte d'Ivoire in Houston, and Ghana versus Panama in Houston.
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