The Country In The Mirror

With soccer rising in popularity in the United States and North America as a whole it was with no surprise that the world's most important sporting event would be coming to the continent in the near future. In the summer of 2026, the FIFA World Cup will be played in cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with the majority of the games being played in the United States. We will be examining what lies ahead in the planning of the world cup, the implications on the growth of the sport in the country, and what lies ahead for the USMNT. Given that the World Cup comes just once every four years, careful and meticulous thought goes into planning every aspect of the sporting event. This is especially true for what cities get the right to host WC matches. Planning was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic but in 2021 FIFA representatives returned to the US to tour potential stadiums. FIFA requires that stadiums must have a capacity of 40,000 to host group stage matches, 60,000 to ho

 The United States played against Mexico in the third round of the World Cup Qualifying. The game ended in a 0-0 score between the two teams. The United States did not go unharmed, two players; DeAndre Yedlin (defender) and Timothy Weah (winger) both received yellow cards and will be suspended for the game on March 27th against Panama which will be played in Orlando, Florida. This game on Sunday will be the next to last of the region's final round.  What does the US have to do to qualify? The US is currently in second place in the North and Central America and Caribbean with a total of 22 points which is four points behind Canada but ahead of Mexico on goal difference. If the US is able to get a win on Sunday against Panama, it would only allowed 4th Pl., Costa Rica to pull even by winning its final two games.  As of right now the US has a +9 goal differential. The US's final game is on Wednesday in Costa Rica which they have never won in qualifying. I believe the US will be ab

Last week, Roman Abramovich, released a statement deciding to sell Chelsea Football Club. He stated that it is in the "best interest" of the club, fans, employees, sponsors, and partners. One of the candidates to buy the current world champions is Todd Boehly (right), an American billionaire who has an interest in the Lakers, Dodgers, and Sparks. Boehly has paired with Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss to make their intentions public on a bid for the club.  Boehly's interest in the football club is not something that just suddenly arose. In 2019, Boehly attempted to buy the team. However, Boehly's offer came nowhere close to the three billion pounds ($3.968 billion) Abramovich was asking for. Now, with Abramovich's urgency to sell, Boehly has leverage. Boehly and Wyss combined net worth of $12.7 billion ($6.2 billion and $6.5 billion) make the duo the prime candidate for ownership.  Since the initial announcement, the duo has been looking to expand their team. They

Injuries to Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest could prove to be fatal to the USMNT dreams of playing in Qatar     On February 22, 2022 Juventus played Villarreal in the Champions League round of 16 match which resulted in a draw. The spotlight of the game was not on the fact that the match ended in a draw, but rather what happened in the 81' minute of the game. Weston McKennie, USMNT and Juventus star, fractured his second and third metatarsals in his left foot sidelining him for the rest of the season including the final three games of the USMNT CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches. The injury will keep the midfielder out of play for the next two to three months as the United States looks to find a solid replacement for McKennie. It is a huge loss for the team as McKennie was potentially playing the best soccer of his career for both club and country at the moment. McKennie's strengths include his finishing ability, trailing into the box from midfield, and his ability to find

Jesse Marsch captures first victory as Leeds United's new manager against Norwich City in a 2-1 victory. Leeds has won their previous two matches leaving a foot in the door for future American managers.      Leeds United took the pitch against Norwich City at Elland Road in an absolute thriller last Sunday which resulted in a 2-1 victory. Although both teams are out of contention for the league title, neither team disappointed in their efforts to secure another win for their respective clubs. In the 14', Rodrigo Moreno initiated the scoring for Leeds from inside the box after a lucky deflection off of a Norwich defender. Norwich players pleaded with the referee to erase the goal as they believed an offside penalty was deserved seconds before the deflection, but the goal stood.  Regretfully, Leeds continued their attack with three more unsuccessful opportunities leaving an opportunity for Norwich's Milot Rashica to score after being taken down in the open field. Stuart Attwe

On Saturday, February 12th Chelsea defeated Palmeiras 2-1 in the Fifa Club World Cup. This is significant for American football due to the fact that this makes Christian Pulisic the first American to lift this trophy. This adds to a very impressive year for Pulisic as he has also won the UEFA Champions League and Super Cup with his club, as well as the CONCACAF Nations League with Team USA. Chelsea is currently positioned third in the Premier League table 16 points behind leaders Manchester City, which may be too far of a margin for Chelsea and Pulisic to capture a league title. Pulisic was subbed on just 30 minutes into the match following a Mason Mount injury. Manager Thomas Tuchel turned to the Americans to create havoc on the left-wing, and Pulisic contributed just that. Pulisic created had three chances on net in the match, putting his first two just wide of the net. The last came from a brilliant cross from teammate Timo Werner, Pulisic headed the ball but it was deflected up and