By Jon Show — World Cup fever is underway as the USA takes on Paraguay tonight at 9 p.m. While watching soccer on the couch might not be your thing, if you step out and join a crowd of soccer fans, you’ll get a better idea why 5 billion people will tune in over the next month.

There are great bars and restaurants in town with plenty of televisions that will show matches, including Torrence & Knox, H2 Public House, Ed’s Tavern and Al’s Bar & Grille, to name a few. Birkdale Village will also show select matches on the big screen.

But if you want to immerse yourself in the experience of watching with true soccer fans, there are two establishments in town that cater to them year-round. Places where you’ll hear people debating whether Mauricio Pochettino has found the best role for Gio Reyna in a lineup built around Christian Pulisic, or the importance of Chris Richards’ ankle to an already thin back line.

Like we said, these are soccer bars. You are far less likely to hear anyone here asking for an explanation of the offside rule, or arguing that 2-1 soccer games are low-scoring while claiming 14-7 football games are exciting when it’s essentially the same score.

Penny Lane

Football is in the DNA of owner Jimmy Holywell, who is from Liverpool, England. Yes, it’s called football at Penny Lane. Also, England’s Harry Kane is a No. 9, not a forward here — the English use numbers for positions.

Penny Lane will air all 104 World Cup matches inside and on a new outdoor television setup that was being installed this week and will be operational for tonight’s U.S. game.

The spot is already popular with pockets of South Africans, English fans, Dutch fans and more, and will likely be hopping on what might otherwise seem like a random or slow game day.

The bar normally opens at 3 p.m., but Holywell will open the doors early for every match and will stay open nightly until 2 a.m.

Penny Lane has an extensive collection of international beers, and Holywell said he’s planning themed drink specials tied to matchups when possible — think Modelo for Mexico matches, Boddingtons for England, Bitburger for Germany and more.

While Penny Lane has bar snacks, it does not have an in-house kitchen, but Peninsula Prime, H2 Public House and Huang’s China Bistro all offer takeout nearby.

Harp & Crown LKN

The OG soccer bar in Cornelius will be busy for most matches and packed for USMNT games. Four years ago, Harp & Crown was filled to the brim for the U.S. team’s final match, a Round of 16 loss to the Netherlands that kicked off at 10 a.m. and drew a packed house for breakfast and morning beers.

The move from Qatar in 2022 to U.S. time zones means no early-morning matches this World Cup, but it does bring some late nights with West Coast kickoffs.

The restaurant will keep its normal lunch and dinner hours on many days but will open early and stay open late for big matches as needed.

In addition to its regular menu, the pub will offer food specials, including Dublin Mozzarella Sticks for $10 and the Big D’s Chopped Cheese Sandwich for $16.

A limited menu also will be available for late-night matches.

Drink specials include Truly, Heineken and, of course, Guinness.