The World Cup may not be must-see TV for the majority of Americans, but for those of us who love the game of soccer (to me, fútbol), El Mundiál is nothing short of a celebration.
I grew up living largely in Latin America (1960, when I was born, through 1976), where the original football is as much religion as sport. Part and parcel of my experience was the taking of (mostly good-natured) grief from native friends, who never ceased to delight in pointing out to me the sweet irony that was the world's most powerful nation being but the south end of a north-going gnat circling the world's most popular sport.
Things of course are different now.
After qualifying for the 1934 World Cup, and withdrawing in 1938, the [U.S. Men's national team's] next World Cup participation came at the 1950 tournament, causing an upset by defeating England 1–0 in their second group match. After 1950, the US didn't qualify for the World Cup again until 1990.
After the 1990 World Cup, the US qualified automatically as hosts of the 1994 World Cup, eventually losing to Brazil in the round of sixteen. From then on, the team has qualified for every World Cup since, up to and including the 2014 World Cup. The national team improved on an international level, reaching the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where they lost to Germany 1–0. In 2009 they reached the final of the FIFA Confederations Cup, eliminating top-ranked Spain 2–0 in the semi-finals before losing to Brazil 3–2 in the final.
In June, the U.S. team heads south to Brazil to try their luck again. Incredibly, based on where we started, we are no longer neophytes and party-crashers but a side that would make more news by failing to qualify for the Cup than by qualifying. That said, we are also still a goodly distance away--probably a good decade or two--from taking the next step to being a contender at the World Cup level. What we have done is establish ourselves as an opponent to be taken seriously, and a side that at any given Cup, depending on the draw, is a threat to advance beyond group play.
In 2014 advancing will be, well, a bitch. The United States has drawn in their four-team group (Group D), Germany and Portugal, the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the world (the U.S. is 14th). The fourth squad, Ghana, is 38th, and the only team the U.S. will be favored to beat. Anyone who has watched the past few Cups, however, will know that no African team is to be taken lightly--the Ghanaians will be loose, fit, and play with reckless abandon. For the U.S. to have any chance to advance, they will need to keep their wits about them and defeat Ghana, then probably have to steal one outright from either Portugal or Germany. A draw against either of those powerhouses might give mathematical hope for advancing, but you wouldn't want to stake any body on it.
So for those of you (us) who want to celebrate the World Cup here on BGO, you are cordially invited to do so here. In addition, please feel free to share your own soccer experiences, impressions, war stories, etc.
Me? I have ties to four teams in the world's top 20 in this year's Cup. I'll live and die by the USMNT of course, for as long as they are alive, but I've also lived, and have in my blood, Argentina (7th), Chile (13th) and Mexico (19th).
Que rico.
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Some links for easy reference:
2014 FIFA World Cup
FIFA Rankings
US Soccer
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Oh, and a prediction for the Final:
Brazil 2, Spain 1
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