USA fans have been left baffled after noticing their national anthem was tweaked ahead of their World Cup game against Australia on Friday night. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been proving everyone wrong so far this summer, with a 4-1 win over Paraguay last week setting the tone for a host nation determined to show its passion for the beautiful game.

But while the football has done much of the heavy lifting – they are 2-0 up against the Socceroos at the time of writing – the atmosphere in the stands has also underlined how far the beautiful game has come in the United States in recent years. However, there was confusion ahead of their second match, which took place at Seattle’s Lumen Field.

Their iconic ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ anthem rang out at full volume around the stadium, but something was noticeably missing, and FIFA protocol meant many supporters were hearing a version they had never encountered before.

USA Fans Baffled As National Anthem Was Sped Up Before Australia Game

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Many viewers noticed that the anthem was sped up, with one X user remarking: “WOW I have never heard the US National Anthem played at that pace. The crowd couldn’t even keep up!” But the reaction to the slight tweak wasn’t all positive, with another commenting (watch the sped-up version below):

Elsewhere, a third wrote: “The tempo was 2x normal speed for the song. It was amazing. Normalize this,” as a fourth concluded: “Speeding up the national anthem was a mistake, it ruined a beautiful moment.”

Why FIFA Protocol is at Fault for ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ Change

Ahead of the USMNT’s opening World Cup game against Paraguay in Los Angeles last week, stars including Katy Perry, Lisa and Future headlined the third of the tournament’s three opening ceremonies before country music duo Dan + Shay performed “The Star Spangled Banner” before kickoff.

Before the second group-stage game against Australia in Seattle, however, no performers were booked to sing either national anthem. That is the standard format for most World Cup matches and international games in general. Exceptions were made only for the opening matches involving the tournament’s three host nations: the United States, Mexico and Canada. Instead, a band played both national anthems, with fans at Lumen Field invited to sing along.

As one fan explained, it made a welcome change from other sports, as they wrote: Wonderful to hear @USMNT fans belt out the national anthem at the @FIFAWorldCup. Been to many @NFL and @NBA games, where there is a dragged-out anthem sung by someone always putting a twist on it, so no one dare join in. People love to sing!”

Tottenham Hotspur have suffered a blow with the news that one of their top transfer targets is ready to reject them to join Arsenal instead.

Tottenham are showing no signs of slowing down or minimising their ambition as they go all out in the summer transfer window, with three deals already completed.

Spurs have already announced the signings of Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi on free transfers, with the duo bringing a wealth of Premier League experience with them to boost a backline that has struggled in recent seasons.

The pair will be joined at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium by Jan Paul van Hecke after a deal worth £52m was agreed with Brighton and Hove Albion, who have made two bid to sign Spurs sensation Luka Vuskovic.

Now, after bolstering the defence and also tying Pedro Porro down to a new long-term contract, it appears as though attention is turning to make changes to De Zerbi’s midfield.

The Italian has a plethora of options to choose from in the centre of the park with Rodrigo Bentancur, Conor Gallagher, Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray available to him, but there have been talks over potential moves for three central midfielders in recent weeks – Joao Palhinha, Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.

Sandro Tonali Makes Decision on Next Club

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While Tottenham have been in talks over a deal to sign Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich on a permanent deal following his loan spell in north London, Spurs have also made attempts to bring Tonali and Fernandes to the club as well.

According to David Ornstein, De Zerbi wants to land both Tonali and Fernandes as he looks to significantly strengthen his squad for next season, but whether that is achievable is another question.

SportsBoom have delivered some bad news for the Italian though, as they claim that despite the 47-year-old holding positive talks with Tonali about working together at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the £55m Newcastle signing’s preference would be to join Arsenal if both clubs had offers accepted by Newcastle.

Tottenham’s Chances Remain Alive

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While Tonali has made his stance clear on his preferred next move, it means nothing if Arsenal don’t firm up their interest in the player.

Reports emanated at the end of the January transfer window from the player’s side that the Gunners had been in contact over a move for Tonali, but nothing materialised at the time.

Given they are now the Premier League champions and the player has huge respect for Mikel Arteta, it isn’t too surprising that he would prefer a move to the Emirates. After all, the Gunners will compete in the Champions League next term and Spurs have no European football on offer.

Another big hurdle for Tottenham in their bid to sign Tonali is Newcastle’s price tag, with SportsBroom claiming that they are demanding up to £120m to sell their star midfielder this summer.

Spurs would need to obliterate their transfer record to land the Italy international, and now it is up to ENIC how far they are willing to go to land a player De Zerbi really wants.

Manchester United have reportedly offered West Ham United winger Crysencio Summerville a six-year contract after opening transfer talks, according to an Italian journalist.

Man United‘s early summer focus has been on rebuilding a midfield that has already lost Casemiro this summer, with Manuel Ugarte likely to join the Brazilian through the exit door after finding first-team minutes hard to come by under Michael Carrick last season.

Red Devils chiefs know they need to find the right support and players to complement England star Kobbie Mainoo in the engine room, and they have already reached a full agreement to sign Atalanta midfielder Ederson, pending a medical.

United have since turned their attentions to trying to land recently-relegated West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes, who is in demand from some of the top clubs in Europe despite the fact his team dropped into the Championship.

The Irons are demanding a fee of around £85m for the 21-year-old, who is keen to link up with Portuguese compatriot Bruno Fernandes at Old Trafford, with United now needing to see if they can negotiate a better deal for them.

United have started to look at attacking options to boost Carrick’s squad too, with Fernandes’ teammate Summerville also of interest.

Man United Offer Summerville Six-Year Deal

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It was reported earlier this week by the Telegraph that United were considering making a £120m double swoop on West Ham for Fernandes and Summerville as they look to land two of their top targets.

Now posting on X, one Italian journalist believes the negotiations over a move for Summerville are beginning to advance, as he claims that they have made the Netherlands international, who scored in his nation’s opening World Cup group game against Japan, a contract offer.

The Red Devils are said to have offered the former Leeds United man a five-year deal with the option of a further 12 months, as they look to tempt him into a move to Old Trafford.

As per the Telegraph, West Ham are said to value Summerville around the £50m mark following their relegation to the Championship.

Who Are United’s Other Left-Winger Targets?

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GIVEMESPORT sources have maintained all summer that United are looking at bringing in a new left-sided attacker during this summer transfer window, especially if Marcus Rashford ends up completing a move away from Old Trafford.

The interest in Summerville is another nod to that information, while they also have an admiration for Morgan Rogers of Aston Villa.

The England international is attracting strong interest from Arsenal too, but United have two people at the club who know Rogers very well in Carrick and Jason Wilcox, who worked with the versatile forward at Middlesbrough and Manchester City respectively.

United have also been linked with moves for other left-sided wingers like Bazoumana Toure, Bradley Barcola and Rafael Leao, while there have also been strong links with Newcastle United left-back Lewis Hall.

There could be big changes on the left flank at Old Trafford this summer then, as we await the club’s next moves in the market.