U.S. Major League Soccer defender Dylan Nealis said in a recent interview with China Media Group that hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup held on home soil is a "truly amazing experience".
The World Cup officially kicked off on June 11 with an opening ceremony at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City that celebrated Mexican culture and the tournament's return to the historic venue.
The expanded 2026 tournament is the biggest ever World Cup, featuring a record number of 48 teams and seeing the competition hosted by three nations for the first time, with matches taking place in Mexico, Canada and the United States from June 11 to July 19.
Nealis, who currently plays for the New York Red Bulls, said despite not being on Team USA, he was still excited to see the top tournament held in his hometown.
"This is special. It's going to be a unique experience. I grew up here, so just seeing it in my hometown is amazing. This is a sport and a tournament that brings so many people together. So it'll be a truly amazing experience," he said.
The U.S. defeated Paraguay 4-1 in their first game, greatly boosting local supporters' confidence.
"You could tell maybe there's a little nervous energy to start. But once the guys got going, I mean, they put on an unbelievable performance. I think that was Friday night, a huge 4-1 win to start the tournament. So I think everybody was watching around the world and are going to take this game and hopefully root for them even some more in the next few games coming up," said Nealis.
Nealis said the legacy of the World Cup goes beyond football itself, noting the profound unity among people and nations that it creates.
"I think it (the influence) will be huge. I think hopefully a lot of European and South Americans and just fans from everywhere across the world. They're just so passionate about this game where I hope they American fans kind of see that and realize how fun this sport can be when you know that you got a group of fans together just cheering and rooting for the all 90 minutes. It's a special sport," he said.
US soccer player says World Cup at home is "truly amazing experience"
A clean energy program aiming to explore the abundant solar resources in an arid town in northwest China via smart technology has transformed the town into a vibrant green power hub.
Thanks to advanced smart grid systems, energy storage and initiating regional new energy training sessions introduced by the program, Minning Town in Yinchuan City of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region has achieved a 24-hour supply of 100 percent green electricity since 2024, pioneering a new model for rural revitalization.
Designated as the first "Green Electricity Town" in the region, Minning Town boasts the largest and most fully equipped new energy training school in northwest China, where students are engaged in lessons around a disassembled wind-driven generator.
The Ningxia Lineng New Energy Vocational Skills Training School also offers trainees access to energy storage and power transformation equipment of different generations and technical characteristics.
Leveraging its abundant solar and wind power facilities, a training base has been established for the trainees in the town.
"Trainees can learn theories in the morning at school, and then go to stations nearby for some practices in the afternoon," said Xing Bowen, manager of the school.
With the annual sunshine duration reaching 3,000 hours, residents in the town have utilized local solar resources to increase their income.
In Yuanlong Village, the roofs of 1,922 households installed with photovoltaic panels have become a unique sight.
"Since our roof photovoltaic industry started grid-connected operation in 2016, residents in Yuanlong Village have leased their roofs out to enterprises. As a result, each household earns a rent of 480 yuan every year, and it also brings a collective income of nearly 1 million yuan to our village," said Ma Keyu, secretary of the Party branch in Yuanlong.
Besides roofs, many villages there have made full use of their idle land, while raising livestock animals under solar panels.
Wind turbines have been also put up on the desertified land around the town to synergize with solar panels to generate electricity.
To ensure a stable power supply at night or when wind stops, the town is equipped with 40 battery compartments that consist of around 200,000 battery cells. The facilities can reserve 180,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity and release 180,000 kilowatt-hours at one time, meeting the daily needs of 24,000 households.
A homegrown smart power dispatching system has been applied for the first time in the town.
"The system works as a smart brain for our power grid. It can predict when the wind is the heaviest and when the sunshine is the strongest, as well as power consumption of residents. It can ensure green power supply by automatically arranging the operations of wind and solar power facilities and reserve stations and dispatching power in real time," said Wang Erqing, deputy director of the Power Dispatching and Control Center of State Grid Yinchuan Power Supply Company.
Since 2024, the town has achieved an annual supply of 566 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity, saving 69,500 tons of coal, and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 192,700 tons, with the utilization efficiency of new energy exceeding 95 percent.
Clean energy program turns arid town in northwest China into green power hub
