Neil Freiman

And I'm Toby Howell.

Today, why are so many tickets still available to the World Cup?

Good morning and happy Wednesday.

Look, a lot about the World Cup has been controversial and frustrating, as we'll get into later in the show.

But the vibes are on the up as Americans have begun to see our country through the eyes of first-time visitors.

On social media, Europeans visiting the United States for the Games have been posting their experiences around the American South, expressing wonder at the nature, fast food, and friendliness of the people in small-town USA.

One German guy named Freddy in particular has gone viral.

He's documented his journey around Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, rafting down the Chattahoochee River, catching the NBA finals at Chili's, and eating Waffle House at 1 a.m., which he called a 10 out of 10 experience.

Toby, sometimes you just need someone else to hold up a mirror to not take things for granted.

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Speaking of the more bad vibes around the World Cup, just one day out from the start of the tournament, FIFA faces a potentially very embarrassing situation, empty seats at games.

According to a Financial Times analysis, nearly 180,000 tickets are still available on official resale platforms, a glut that highlights FIFA's unusual and controversial ticketing process for this year's event, the biggest it's ever put on.

It's stinging news for your friend who thought they were being smart by snagging a bunch of tickets early on at face value with the expectation of reselling them later for a tidy profit.

The FT found that since ticket prices on the official porter have slid 20% over the past month, when taking the 26% fee on transactions into account, most resales could now come at a loss.