The #14 ranked USA and its young team fought the mighty #8 English on Saturday, resulting in a tie in what was called “the most anticipated game in U.S. soccer history.” Both critics and historians alike favored England to win and the numbers supported their claims. Of the 9 meetings between the two teams since 1950 the U.S. has only managed to win two. The first being in 1950 when an inexperienced and hastily prepared American squad of school teachers, dishwashers and mail carriers defeated the then 23-4-3 post war English team in what came to be dubbed the “Miracle on Grass.” The second win came more than 40 years later when they beat the English in a qualification match for the 1994 World Cup. USA midfielder Landon Donovan responded to critics saying “man for man england is the more talented team” but pointed out that his teams camaraderie will play a major determining factor in the matches outcome.
U.S. national support for soccer has always fallen below the worldwide average but after matching the performance of England on saturday and the chance to advance to the second round granted a win on friday against Slovenia. Americans are growing increasingly curious of a sport knocking on its front door. US soccer fans even managed to outnumber British fans at Soccer City Stadium saturday in Johannesburg A reported 8,000 tickets were sold in America for the match as opposed to 6,000 in England.
We are here to watch African history unfold, but I could not avoid casting my full support for the USA team in this match. We will be attending the USA vs. Algeria match nex week. I am looking forward to the deafening experience of a stadium filled to capacity with the most avid soccer fans in the world.
Stay tuned as this 64-match tournament unfolds with great excitement.
No comments:
Post a Comment