Messi magic, ICE raids and gun ranges: What two Socceroos have learnt about America

On the field, Socceroos Kye Rowles and Patrick Yazbek are confronting some of the toughest tests of their careers in Major League Soccer: world-class opponents, brutal travel schedules and oppressive summer heat, which will hold them in good stead come next year’s World Cup.

Off the field, they’re coming to grips with a different side of America.

Rowles, even on a valid visa, has pondered how easily entry can be denied at the border. He’s watched clips of people being “whisked away” by immigration authorities and wondered what that says about the country that will co-host the next World Cup.

“It’s pretty hectic,” he said.

For those who read this masthead from the back, and don’t always make it to the front, he’s talking about the crackdown that has resulted in more than 200,000 people being deported so far in Donald Trump’s second presidential term amid raids on such places as schools, hospitals and places of worship. Most were there illegally, but not all: some held valid visas or green cards and still found themselves caught in the widening net of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Polls show even many Trump voters think he’s gone too far.

“Just because it doesn’t affect me directly, it could still,” Rowles, 27, said.

“I’m on a visa. I saw something that it doesn’t matter if you have a visa, they can still choose to not let you in, effectively, when you get to the border. It is pretty sad to see those clips of people that could be really giving positively to the community for 30, 50 years, and then all of a sudden, it’s just taken away from them.”

Then there’s the possibility that some supporters may not even make it to the World Cup. Trump has reinstated a travel ban on nationals from 12 countries, including Iran. While his executive order includes exemptions for players, coaches, staff and their families for the World Cup, reports suggest some Iranian officials have already had visa applications denied ahead of December’s draw.

The world’s biggest sporting event is supposed to bring people together, but some might be shut out before they even reach the gate.

“It won’t be nice to see different nations be unfairly treated, especially when they’re just going to support their team or support the game that they love,” Rowles said.

“I hope that it kind of settles down and a bit of normality comes back in the way of people not just getting whisked away. But I’m not running the country, so I don’t really have much say on it.”

Rowles is somewhat wary of speaking about these topics, because he has only good things to say about his life since moving to the US in January. He plays for DC United, but lives over the border in Virginia. He’s taken his “touristy photos” outside the White House; when he returned from international duty in March, he was taken by the beauty of the blooming cherry blossom trees in and around the capital’s memorials. Despite what Australians might think of the average American, he reckons they’re not unlike us: friendly, cheerful and massively into sport.

“I’ve been out and about a lot, and mingled with all kinds of people, and to have no negative experience in seven or eight months is pretty good going … you’d take that anywhere, really,” he said.

Rowles is not particularly political, but as Trump cosies up to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, it’s hard not to notice how his sport is overlapping with politics in the US.

Neither is Yazbek, 23, who plays for Nashville SC, in the country music capital of the world. The most American thing he’s done since moving there? Heading to a gun range.

“It makes you think like ... what kind of country am I in?” Yazbek said with a laugh. “Like, this is pretty American, you know?”

Tennessee is a red Republican state, which means he has seen very little in the way of political misalignment.

“There’s not much dispute; everyone agrees,” he said.

“I don’t really feel too invested in the nonsense that goes on in the world, or the country, because it’s just who I am, I guess. It’s actually a great place to be, a lot of opportunity, a lot of stuff going on. For me, it’s like home now.”

When it comes to football, Rowles and Yazbek are in furious agreement. Both came to MLS hoping the competition’s rapidly rising status and the exposure to local conditions would not only make them better players, but better-prepared players should they make it to the World Cup.

Both had high expectations – and they’ve been surpassed.

“It’s actually blown me away since I moved there,” said Yazbek, who recently lifted his first piece of silverware with Nashville, the US Open Cup.

“It’s just been such a good challenge, such a good adjustment, quality opposition every week. Playing away is very difficult, because it’s such a big country … you’re flying here and there, making adjustments, maybe a different time zone. You get a very broad kind of variety of things, which can test you a lot.”

Rowles’ DC United are struggling; they’re bottom of the Eastern Conference. But as a defender, he faces world-class forwards on an almost weekly basis.

Last month, it was Lionel Messi, who scored twice in a 3-2 win. In his last game before joining the Socceroos in camp for this window, it was former Premier League star Wilfred Zaha, who scored against DC for Charlotte FC. Those are some of the big stars, but there are also top-level wingers and strikers in MLS who aren’t household names, and some of them are even better.

There is a fair bit of diversity in terms of how MLS teams play – some dominate possession, some sit back, some are downright dirty – but the one thing they have in common, Rowles said, aside from having excellent facilities and stadiums, is they are all “stacked” in attack. And that means he always has his work cut out for him.

“I really like it,” he said. “You want to push yourself … so many different clubs have their different philosophies and how they want to play, so you get to see different strikers and different challenges every week.”

Yazbek also came away a loser against Messi and Miami earlier in the year, but he’ll get a shot at revenge next week, on the other side of Wednesday’s friendly (midday, AEDT) against the US.

“He’s the best player of all time, in my opinion, so he was hard to contain,” Yazbek said of Messi.

“He’s just crazy to come up against. He doesn’t really do much … he’ll be kind of missing for 20, 30 minutes, and he’s just walking around. But then he’ll just dribble through and find an unbelievable pass. That was a cool experience.

“The more games I’m getting in against high-quality opposition, and the physicality of the league, too, is quite high ... it’s only going to benefit me, and prepare me for the rest of my career.”

This next World Cup will be a hit, Yazbek believes – though it will be very different to the most recent one in Qatar, where all games were a bus trip away. In 2026, with Canada and Mexico also co-hosting, and the tournament falling in the peak of the North American summer, it will be physically taxing.

On Wednesday, in Colorado, there will be the added challenge of playing at altitude.

“It’s a growing nation in terms of football, orr soccer, I should say,” Yazbek said.

“But it’s going to be a very different experience. Every team is going to have to battle logistics like we do as an MLS club – charter flights and everything. It’s easy, but it’s not on the body.

“On the east coast, it’s very, very hot in the summer; humidity is through the roof. It’s like 35 degrees every day, doesn’t matter what time it is. The reality is, that’s the country, that’s the climate.

“But I think it’s a great location to host the World Cup. They’ve got all the facilities you need. Our facilities are unbelievable; stadiums are unbelievable. The fan base is there. It’s going to be a very interesting World Cup.”