John Oliver on Late Night: The World Cup is 'blue meth,' FIFA is 'basically the Walter White'


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The World Cup starts Thursday, and Seth Meyers had John Oliver on Late Night Wednesday night to talk about soccer's big event. Oliver spent his own Sunday show railing against FIFA, soccer's world governing body, and he re-upped that criticism on Late Night. "FIFA is awful, but the product they push is amazing," Oliver said. "They're basically the Walter White," the Breaking Bad antihero, and "if you get hooked on their magnificent blue meth of a sport, then you want nothing else."
Oliver is counterintuitively optimistic about England's chances in the tournament, but not all that bullish on Team USA — "I would prepare yourselves for winning zero out of three games." He also thinks the decision by Team USA's German coach to cut Landon Donovan was "the most German decision in this history of sports." If you want more thoughts on the World Cup from a very funny, rabid fan of the game, watch on. --Peter Weber
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A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.
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