When the USA and Australia meet in Seattle tonight, there will be more than just three World Cup points on the line.
The match also doubles as the latest defence of the Unofficial Football World Championship, one of the sport’s more intriguing and lesser-known titles.
FIFA does not recognise the title and it carries no official status, but it has a lineage stretching all the way back to the very beginnings of international football.
The Little-Known World Title Once Held By Ireland Is Up For Grabs Tonight
The concept is simple. England became the first-ever holders after defeating Scotland 4-2 in 1873, the first international match to produce a winner after the sides had drawn 0-0 a year earlier.
From there, the championship works much like a boxing title. Any international match involving the holders becomes a title defence. If they win or draw, they keep the crown. If they lose, the title passes to their opponents.
The idea first gained popularity after Scotland beat reigning world champions England in 1967, leading some fans to jokingly declare themselves the true world champions.
Over time, football historians traced the lineage all the way back to 1873, creating a remarkable alternative history of international football.
Australia arrive in Seattle as the current holders.
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The Socceroos inherited the title at this World Cup after defeating Turkey 2-0 in their opening game of the tournament. Turkey had arrived in North America with the championship after taking it from Kosovo during World Cup qualifying earlier this year.
That means tonight’s clash with the USA is Australia’s first defence of the title.
There is also a small Irish chapter in the story.
The Republic of Ireland’s most recent reign as Unofficial World Champions came in 2004 when a last-minute Robbie Keane winner saw them defeat the Czech Republic in a friendly in Dublin.
The title was subsequently lost to Nigeria, making our stay at the top a brief one.
The championship has passed through the hands of many of football’s biggest nations over the decades, including Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France, Spain and England.
Yet the all-time leaders are actually Scotland, whose dominance in the early years of international football leaves them atop the championship’s historical rankings.
Whether the USA players are aware of what is at stake tonight is another question entirely.
But alongside their World Cup ambitions, they also have the chance to claim a title whose history stretches back more than 150 years.
For Australia, meanwhile, the challenge is simple: avoid defeat and remain football’s unofficial world champions for at least a little while longer.
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