America’s soccer stars struggled to keep up with the national anthem after the band played an unusually-speedy version ahead of the World Cup clash with Australia.
Fans and players were left confused ahead of kickoff in Seattle after organizers opted against the usual, slower sporting version of the Star-Spangled Banner, instead going with the original band version of the anthem.
It took a few seconds to get used to in the stadium, with players initially appearing to belt out the song slowly, before realizing they were well behind the actual words over the PA system.
It led to initial confusion at home and in the stadium, as the players tried to skip words to catch up with the tune.
‘Why is the national anthem being played at 2x speed lol’, one fan wrote on X, while another added: ‘Maybe I’m tweaking but why does our national anthem seem so much faster than usual’.
A third joked: ‘How rapid is this national anthem? Give them a chance!’
Seattle was awash with color hours before the game, as jubilant fans of both teams marched through the streets en route to the stadium.
Both teams had won their first fixtures in the tournament – America against Paraguay and Australia against Turkey – so vibes were high as both countries eyed a spot in the knockout stages.
Even the pregame news that star US man Christian Pulisic was not fit to play couldn’t dampen spirits, as chants of ‘USA! USA!’ were bellowed across the city.
