It’s time.
The most anticipated match in the history of U.S. soccer is taking place tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in South Africa. The Americans begin their quest for the World Cup 2010 against rival England and there is really no telling what will happen. This U.S. team has been through many different ups and downs over the past couple of years but look to solidify their spot as one of the top teams in the world.
Video from opening game:
This is not just a soccer game between two great nations. Instead, this is a match of colossal magnitude. If the U.S. wins, it will be the biggest loss for England in any sport in decades. If England wins, it could set the U.S. on course to fail to make it out of group play for the second straight time.
Soccer has always been overlooked in the United States. It’s been smothered by other thriving sports like football, basketball and baseball. Everywhere else around the globe, on the other hand, soccer is the principal sport. The fact is the quantity and quality of American-born soccer players does not measure up to the rest of the world. Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean that they can’t perform well against or even beat the better teams.
It is obvious that the sport of soccer is going to struggle in the U.S. when the national team has only managed to qualify for the World Cup a total of nine times, including this year. The team is now making their sixth straight appearance to the World Cup. The best result for the United States was a third place finish in 1930. Other than that, the furthest the Americans had made it through the tournament was the quarter-finals.
The only time that the United States faced England in a World Cup match was in 1950. The British came in as the heavy favorites to win the tournament, with odds at 3-1. The Americans, on the other hand, were written off at 500-1. In a shocking upset, the United States beat England 1-0 in the group stage.
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Things have obviously changed since that time but the American ability to win over better competition has remained. Just one year ago, on June 24, 2009, the United States pulled off the greatest upset victory in their history, beating #1 ranked Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup Semi-finals. Nobody expected the Americans to have any chance in that game, but somehow they managed to shut out the Spanish and win with goals by Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore.
The United States then faced yet another giant in Brazil in the Final. The Americans took an early 2-0 lead with goals by Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan. Something must have happened at halftime because the Brazilians surged by scoring three unanswered goals to win 3-2. Though they weren’t able to complete another monumental upset, the U.S. team knew it could compete with anyone on the world stage.
Since then, the United States has been shaky with their performance. They finished second to Mexico in the 2009 Gold Cup, losing 5-0, but finished first in their CONCACAF qualifying group for the World Cup. This group of guys has very high aspirations going into the tournament this year. Landon Donovan leads the way, followed by Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Churundolo, and goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Clearly, beating England is not the main goal for the U.S. team that plans to prove they deserve their #14 world ranking, but it’s a start. Taking down the third-best team in the world in the group stages would be a huge lift for the Americans and would set them on a path for the quarter-finals and possibly even the semis. If they expect to win, they must play with that same fearless disposition they did when facing Spain and Brazil.
One of the best players on the United States team, goalkeeper Tim Howard says that fear doesn’t play a factor in the mind of the Americans. “Just because I think they are that good doesn’t mean I fear them,” Howard said. “We still have to go out and compete and that’s what we will do. Just because someone is supposedly better than you doesn’t mean you back down.”
Absolutely not.
Neither should the American fans that have already given up on the U.S. Even if they don’t win the entire tournament, this is still an opportunity for the sport to be made relevant on a national stage. For those of you thinking it will never be, you are wrong. The most ticket sales outside of South Africa for the World Cup 2010 were from the United States.
The most recognized face in the sport of soccer in America is the U.S. captain, Landon Donovan. Even he understands the magnitude of the match between England and the U.S.A. “For the last six months, all we’ve seen is U.S.-England, so if you’re a casual sports fan at home you might think this is the World Cup final,” Donovan said. “We’re not like Brazil where if they don’t win the World Cup, soccer is still the biggest thing in anyone’s mind. But this is a great opportunity to grow the sport.” The best way to grow the sport is through winning.
So it’s time for Landon Donovan and crew to show their worth. It’s time to prove to the fans and to the world that soccer is on the rise in the U.S. and that we will not settle for consistently being unsuccessful. It’s time for the American fans to stand up for their team by watching and cheering for them in the World Cup, no matter the outcome. It’s time for the U.S. soccer team to make history.
