Stephen A. Smith roasted for ‘ignorant’ World Cup take that has left soccer fans stunned

Stephen A. Smith is no stranger to hot takes, but his latest claim about the World Cup has irked plenty of soccer fans.

The ESPN host, who is said to earn more than $100 million with the network, on Wednesday appeared alongside Men in Blazers founder Roger Bennett for a First Take segment on the 2026 tournament.

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As the panel discussed France’s 3-1 opening game victory against Senegal, Smith questioned if the decorated soccer nation could ‘finally’ win the World Cup this summer.

“Really, for me, it’s about (Kylian) Mbappe for France,” the sportscaster said.

“He scored two goals yesterday, and remember he scored a hat-trick in the final lost to Argentina in 2022.

“I’m wondering whether or not this is the year for France. I’m thinking of France because of Wemby, and how he just went home in the NBA Finals. I’m wondering what France is going to do.

“Could this be the year that they finally get it done, and they win the World Cup?”

Smith, of course, has never claimed to be totally clued up about his soccer.

But 10 seconds of research, before appearing on his huge show, would have revealed that France won the World Cup in 2018.

Only one tournament, in which they reached the final, has been played since then. As Smith noted, France were beaten by Lionel Messi‘s Argentina in 2022.

But the nation were also victorious in 1998, when they hosted the tournament on home soil.

Glory in the United States this year would be France’s third World Cup win in less than three decades.

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ESPN

Smith’s attempt to set up some kind of fairy-tale narrative, then, is rather bizarre.

Stephen A. slammed for ‘ignorant’ France take

Fans quickly clocked it, and tore into the ESPN personality on social media.

“It’s embarrassing for a sports network to be this indifferent in covering the world’s biggest sporting event…” one wrote on X, responding to a clip shared by Awful Announcing.

“Huh? ‘Finally’ get it done? France has gone one whole World Cup without winning it,” another pointed out.

“There are more mainstream sports media that have embraced the other football and have followed for years. He, is not one of those,” a third said.

“Yo, France won in 2018. You really are ignorant,” a fourth wrote.

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“Stick to the Jordan-LeBron debate,” a fifth begged.

Smith, of course, is in the business of delivering explosive takes.

But this latest claim about France goes beyond even his norm, and suggests ESPN’s $100m star should take some time to do a little more research if he wants to talk about the World Cup live on air again.

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