Jun 10, 2026 – 4.00pmCarl Coolen, a lifelong soccer fan from Adelaide, had already faced rounds of rejection from the “notoriously tricky” FIFA-administered ballots for World Cup tickets when he tried his luck one more time.As luck and $790 would have it, he scored a pair of seats in February for one of the Socceroos’ most highly anticipated match-ups, against host nation the United States in Seattle on June 19.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Jessica GardnerUnited States correspondentJessica Gardner is The Australian Financial Review’s United States correspondent. She was previously deputy editor - news.Fetching latest articles