Blog: My World Cup at Fox Sports
By Michael Minnich on July 25, 2026
Less than a week out from the World Cup Final, I still haven’t fully unpacked (literally or mentally) from my experience working as a researcher for Fox Sports during the majority of the tournament.
Let’s talk about the work itself first.
Things started for me in March, when I was tasked with doing the player biographies for Bosnia & Herzegovina, Curacao, Ecuador, Egypt, Mexico, Senegal and Spain. I can’t thank Jen Cooper enough for bringing me into this ‘soccer nerd’ sphere. She recommended me for this tournament and also for the Paris Olympics two years ago and is a daily text contact for me as we work together on the National Women’s Soccer League research and broadcast preparations front.
That biographical information ranged from their age and current club team to fun facts about each player. The trick with that was, until the rosters were released, it was a ‘best guess’ situation on who would make the roster, which made for a lot of late nights once the announcements flooded in.
But it really kicked in the week before the tournament, when the research team assembled at Fox Sports on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles.
My daily roles included setting up Slack threads for each game (108 of them!) and starting them with all the links and info necessary for the broadcasters, producers, graphics producers, social media creators and other researchers associated with the game.
That included who the referees were, links to documents that FIFA and the researchers at TruMedia created, what players were on the edge of suspensions, things like that. During the game, that was a place to answer questions and provide quick facts and notes for everyone working on the games.
On gamedays, we worked in pairs, for one or two games a day.
One of us would stay in our ‘Research Room’, a conference room dedicated to us on the first floor that had two TVs on the end wall and monitors and TV screens galore on the side walls that could be tuned to the broadcast itself, or the feed from the set, or alternate feeds.
The other, which often was me as the tournament went on, was on the stage, next to the cameras, steps away from the studio hosts and analysts, filling their needs.
My normal partner was Martin Thorstensson, who was a great person to work with not only for his knowledge, but his quiet, friendly demeanor. We often walked to and from our hotel (more on that later) together. It was very much like a college experience where you quickly bonded with the gang on your floor.
No matter if we were downstairs in the Research Room or upstairs on stage, we were on headsets, talking to our fellow researchers, our research head Mark Young in the control room, producers, or, in the case of the stage role, the talent on stage themselves.
On stage, we again worked in pairs as many of the main hosts brought their own people who were world-class and didn’t see themselves as ‘above’ us.
Marina Ayuso was on loan from NBC along with Rebecca Lowe and brought an incredibly high level of precision and professionalism while also embracing that this is supposed to be fun and a special privilege to work a tournament like this. I am so happy that she was able to watch her Spain win the World Cup in person.
Marc Connelly is someone whose work I’ve read for years on ESPN. As Rob Stone’s researcher, he was a very friendly and welcoming person who I spent many hours talking college and American soccer with, an absolute pleasure who logged a lot of miles following Rob and the live crew.
Will Rickson was with us for a few days attached to Jules Breach before he too went on the road as Jules crossed the continent doing live shows. Same goes for Matthew Placzek, who got his passport stamped plenty of times with Jacqui Oatley and Warren Barton (sorry about Argentina, Matt).
Although they were in other pairs and I didn’t get to work with them as much, I loved being around our resident Aussie via San Antonio, Chris Hockman, and Blaise Bourgeois, a one-of-a-kind character who I also worked the Olympics with and is a professional poker player. To say Blaise has a mind for numbers and scenarios is an understatement.
On stage, we also had cards to write on if someone needed a quick note to look at during the pregame, halftime or postgame shows. As soon as the shows went to commercial, we were often speed-walking onto the set to hand over information or to provide a quick nugget before we had to scurry back off-camera.
One of my favorite moments was, after Sidny Lopes Cabral from Cinderella story Cape Verde scored the tying goal in the first period of extra time against giants and defending champions Argentina, working with Marina to give Rebecca the note that Lopes Cabral had been playing in the lower divisions of Germany a year ago, a contrast to the biggest-stage-possible moment he’d just had.
Five minutes after the goal, Rebecca was sharing the information on air. It’s a heady but pressure-packed feeling to work on a tight deadline like that and have millions hear the fruits of your labor.
That was the work part, which was incredible.
But it was also an amazing experience just to be around a tournament of this magnitude.
I attended the Iran-New Zealand match at SoFi Stadium in nearby Inglewood with Martin and another researcher, Nick Bruce.
First of all, it was surreal to be in one of the nation’s newest and most beautiful venues.
And then, of course, it was incredible to experience a World Cup match. The Iranian immigrant community in the LA area is a significant one and they were loud and proud for their home nation.
The New Zealanders, although fewer in number, brought the same level of passion to what was an excellent, back-and-forth game.
My friend and radio teammate Alex Wiederspiel asked me what one of my biggest takeaways was, and it was the people.
I was with the ‘Big Four’ of Rebecca Lowe, Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexi Lalas for some games, but more of my time was spent with hosts Jules Breach, Pien Meulensteen and Rob Stone and a rotating cast of legends as analysts.
It was incredible to me that Javier Hernandez had never done television work before. The passion for the game and ability to articulate that joy in a second language from Mexico’s all-time leading scorer was infectious. Being on set with him when Mexico was playing was a joyful experience.
Watching the end of a thriller between Ivory Coast and Norway with former Nigerian captain Mikel John Obi sitting next to me in the open research chair was another memorable moment for me.
Working four of the five United States games carried extra meaning, too.
So many games were decided late and that was its own special kind of electricity as we planned, pivoted, and pivoted again as the circumstances dictated.
Fox Sports took such wonderful care of us. All three meals a day were provided for free in an outside tent by the studio, plus we received a per diem for expenses.
We stayed in a hotel in Beverly Hills that was right on Pico Boulevard, a 20-minute walk to Fox and an easy bus ride in one direction to Santa Monica and to LA proper in the other.
Walk 10 minutes, and you’re in downtown Beverly Hills (which has a postal code that is not 90210, we’ve been lied to all these years); walk 20, and you’re on Rodeo Drive, able to buy things that are worth more than my life, probably.
It’s one of those things you dream about doing, especially with a men’s World Cup in North America for the first time since 1994.
Next? Hopefully the Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year and the LA Olympics after that.
But I’m also ready and excited to get to go down the street and see Bridgeport defend their boys soccer title and the girls aim for a second straight state berth before that.
It’s a beautiful game, no matter on what stage it’s on.
Photos (from top):
Me outside of the Fox Sports building with 'Cleatus' on the side and the giant inflatable World Cup soccer ball behind me.
Me outside of the Fox Sports building with 'Cleatus' on the side and the giant inflatable World Cup soccer ball behind me.
The stage view from my location on the right side of the set.
The set in action during a commercial break. Next to me is the foliage for Zlatan's 'King of the Jungle' segment.
Iran vs. New Zealand at SoFi Stadium.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thierry Henry play soccer tennis with a mini ball and net on top of the studio desk at the end of the night.
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