I think the structure of the tournament play turns a lot of Americans off. Here’s how we fared this year...makes no sense to me:
Game 1: We beat Ghana 2 to 1
Game 2: We tied Portugal 2 to 2
Game 3: We lost to Germany. Now this is where it gets screwy. Portugal won their 3rd game, beating Ghana 2 to 1, just like the US had. But Portugal went home, and the US progressed. Why? Because Portugal had also lost to the Germans...and had scored fewer goals up to that point than the US had. So, even though the US lost, apparently Portugal would have had to beat Ghana 6 to 1? to progress. It just sets up a screwy situation - the US lost, but all the nouveau soccer fans are celebrating anyway....they progressed! because Germany beat up on Portugal more than the US. And frankly, after seeing Germany beat up so hard on Brazil, I suspect Germany was sandbagging it with the US...under this screwed up system, that ploy could get your better competition eliminated early, which may have been their intent.
Game 4: US lost to Belgium 2 to 1.
So all the US world cup fever, complete with celebrities cheering the team on with Twitter posts etc, was because the US won ONE game. That’s it. The team won ONCE, but advanced to the fourth round.
Sorry, but I can’t get excited over watching a tournament with that structure.
I agree with all that - it's a fair criticism (not based on ideology or politics - who knew?)
Somewhat analogous - MLB, NBA, NHL & NFL all allow too many teams into the playoffs & they keep finding ways to add more.
Teams with .500 & below records should not be in any kind of postseason.
That is the way most international tournaments are run whether the sport is basketball, soccer, rugby, etc. How do you think basketball is run in the Olympics and world championships? They have a group stage round-robin followed by a knockout stage. Why is that so alien to you?
The NFL is divided into groups to decide who gets into the playoffs, just like MLB and the NBA. You play the regular season to determine who gets through to the playoffs and to set up the seedings.
You should review the various factors that decide who gets into the NFL playoffs. It is just as, if not more complicated as to who gets out of the group stage in the World Cup.
Wins, losses, and draws are scored the same way as in hockey ... 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss. Germany had the most points, US and Portugal tied on points so they counted goal differences. US had more goals, so they advanced with Germany.
It’s not rocket surgery.
It is about as confusing as those college football “bowl” games.
Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl, Aloha Bowl? I cant figure any of that out.