There will be almost no avoiding the political undertones, overtones and everywhere tones in Washington, D.C. around lunchtime today. FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s servile pandering to Donald Trump is the reason that planet football has decamped to the banks of the Potomac, the Kennedy Center reportedly chosen at the behest of the man in the Oval Office, where Infantino is an evermore frequent guest.

American-born Canada coach Jesse Marsch has been strident and outspoken on the political climate in his homeland. But as the World Cup inched closer over the horizon he’s done his damnedest to focus on the primary task ahead. He’ll surely hold his nose — and tongue — during the less-palatable moments of Friday’s extravaganza because of the gravity of the other moments.

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