Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith facing backlash after 'ignorant' World Cup take
Topics: Sport, World Cup, Football, Social Media
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for SiriusXM
Topics: Sport, World Cup, Football, Social Media
The ESPN First Take commentator is being roasted on social media after making an 'embarrassing' comment about the World Cup.
For those of you who haven't tuned in or haven't been hearing the cheers - or cries of despair, depending on where you're located - echoing through your neighbourhood, the FIFA World Cup 2026 is very much underway.
The 23rd edition of the tournament, but the first to feature 48 teams and three host countries - the US, Mexico and Canada - commenced on June 11 and is set to conclude tomorrow night (June 19).
Earlier this week on Tuesday (June 16), France went head-to-head with Senegal at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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France came out victorious with a score of 3-1 and while the win was well celebrated and discussed by football fans, there was one question which wasn't being asked by many, bar ESPN First Take sport commentator Stephen A. Smith it would seem.
During a segment on the show yesterday (June 17), Smith broke down the win for viewers: "For me, it's about Mbappe for France. He scores two goals yesterday. OK, remember, he scored a hat trick in the finals loss to Argentina in 2022. I'm wondering whether or not this is the year for France.
"I'm thinking about France because of Wemby and how he just went home in the NBA Finals. I'm wondering what France is going to do."
He continued: "Could this be the year that they finally get it done, and they win the World Cup? Considering Mbappe, and what we saw him do yesterday, and what we know he's capable of doing, because he's done it before."
Alas, the commentator's questioning of whether this could 'be the year' France 'finally get it done' didn't go amiss with footy fans.
Why? Well, because France won the World Cup just a few years ago in 2018. Oh and it also won it in 1998 too.
And it didn't take long for viewers to flood to social media to weigh in.
"I'm wondering what France is going to do, could this be the year that they finally get it done and they win the World Cup?" – Stephen A. Smith pic.twitter.com/IzJXmawAI8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 17, 2026
One X user said: "Ain’t no way that Stephen A. Smith doesn’t know that France has already won the World Cup before. But in all seriousness do these people (in this case I’m talking about Stephen A. Smith) not do their research before coming on live tv to talk about sports?"
"I’m not asking Stephen A. Smith to become a soccer expert. I’m asking him to put in a modicum of effort and simply look up whether or not a team has won the World Cup, as France has done twice during SAS career," another commented.
"It's embarrassing for a sports network to be this indifferent in covering the world's biggest sporting event..." A third added.
A fourth wrote: "Could 2026 finally be the year Stephen A. Smith wins a clue about soccer ?"
Alright everyone, it's not that big a deal really, is it?
UNILAD has contacted representatives for Stephen A. Smith for comment.