Ambassadors bet steak dinner on soccer game

Now the pressure is really on for the U.S. to beat Britain in the World Cup opening match this Saturday, because a free meal for the American ambassador is on the line. Politico has released an email exchange between the U.S. and British ambassadors in which they make a wager on the outcome of their ...

Now the pressure is really on for the U.S. to beat Britain in the World Cup opening match this Saturday, because a free meal for the American ambassador is on the line.

Now the pressure is really on for the U.S. to beat Britain in the World Cup opening match this Saturday, because a free meal for the American ambassador is on the line.

Politico has released an email exchange between the U.S. and British ambassadors in which they make a wager on the outcome of their countries’ upcoming "football" face-off. The terms? Ambassador of the losing team buys ambassador of the winning team dinner at the winner’s favorite restaurant.

The trash-talking then spilled over to a back-and-forth between embassies, ending with a blow from the (overconfident­) British: "The [American] Ambassador takes his steak like American soccer victories – somewhat rare."

Oh, England.  I guess you’re still struggling with that inferiority complex we embedded into your psychology back in 1950

Sylvie Stein is an editorial researcher at Foreign Policy.

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