On Nov. 20, the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup competition will begin. According to World Soccer Talk, soccer is the fastest-growing major sport in the U.S. More than half the world watched the record-breaking 2018 World Cup, according to The Future is Fútbol.
Much of the success can be derived to the recent success of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team, or USWNT. Their recent successes in the World Cup, which started with the team winning the championship in 2015, and then again in 2019, currently have them reigning over the Women’s World Cup.
Former pro player, and current coach of the Ohio Women’s Soccer team, Aaron Rodgers, shared how he will root for his home team.
”As an American, I will pull for the US,” Rodgers said.
However, when the US did not qualify for the World Cup back in 2018, Rodgers found other teams to root for.
“I like Brazil some, because they’re all just Liverpool players,” Rodgers shared, showing how the crossover of players from his Premier League team inspires who he roots for.
Riley Smith, a former student in Health Services, when asked about his favorite players competing, shared his secondary teams he is rooting for.
“(I’m supporting) Brazil and England, because I follow a Premier League team, Everton, and a lot of the players are either from England or Brazil,” Smith shared. “It’s just kind of cool to see them represent their own national teams.”
Smith has enough support to share, as he hopes his US team can win some big games this year.
“The US men's team is finally going to be halfway decent, so it'd be cool to see them possibly upset some of the juggernauts like Brazil or Argentina,” Smith said, showing the rejuvenated faith in the US team after the 2018 failure.
Rowan Featheringham, a freshman studying nursing, described how he is rooting for one of the legends of the game itself.
“I'm supporting Argentina, because I want (Lionel) Messi to get his first World Cup,” he said.
Featheringham also described how he prefers to follow players when he watches soccer.
“I don't mind watching teams, like I like watching Premier League, LaLiga, just whatever I can get my hands on, but I like following certain players, especially players that are having poor performances but picking up and stuff, or just underdogs,” Featheringham said, detailing the storylines he plans to follow throughout the Cup season.
While many here will be rooting for the US team to make an impact, many across the world will be watching their respective teams with bated breaths.
