It was not meant to be. Perhaps we were better off in not going too Russia in ‘18. We did go to the Olympics in ‘14 though.
See you in November. 🇺🇸
🗣 @TimHowardGK pic.twitter.com/ZiX4E4JGir— USMNT: Qualified. (@USMNT) March 31, 2022
“Our aim is to win the World Cup," said Italy manager Roberto Mancini prior to the UEFA World Cup qualifying playoff of North Macedonia. "In order to do so, we need to win these two games. It’s only others thinking about scenario B, the negative outcome. I’m thinking only of scenario A. And let’s hope it’s A."Things didn't quite work out the way that Mancini was envisioning.
But to simply describe outcome that came to pass — a shocking, stunning 1-0 loss to North Macedonia that once again will leave the Italians watching soccer's biggest tournament from their couches for the second straight cycle — as "the negative outcome" would be a severe injustice.
No, this is far more than that. For Italy, a four-time World Cup champion and current European champion, to miss a single World Cup tournament — let alone consecutive ones — is catastrophic. It is devastating for a country where soccer is a way of life. It is a sporting failure that is sure to carry significant consequences.
The US is ranked 13th after Mexico, which is ranked 12th. Those are overratings as they both play so many easy to beat small countries in the Americas and Carribean. The US is 18th in the odds to win the whole thing. The US should easily qualify, but not have much chance of winning the whole thing.
Soccer is for peasants that have to be told not to crap in the water well.
Cool.
I don’t expect much from them, but that’s OK.
Plan on watching a match in England, and Germany for a quick vacation this November. 👍
Hopefully no COVID restrictions then.
Great! Now fire Berhalter!
Pretty much the last time the US will have to sweat out qualitying as CONCACAF is slated to have six teams in the next expanded World Cup, plus they’re hosting anyway in 2026, along with Canada and Mexico.
The handicap now is that the women must get paid the same as men, so I imagine they’ll have to cut the men’s pay to balance the budget.
Congrats to them!
It seems to be the only major sport where we get to pack the bars across the country and support our national team. The Olympics was a complete dud - I feel for the athletes but nobody wanted to watch it in China.
Most of our other sports (NFL, NBA, NHL, ...) just result in a single city celebrating their championship. Soccer continues to grow and I believe the men’s team brings American’s together during the World Cup.
The USA will face Iran, England and one other European team
Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales/Scotland/Ukraine
Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Group D: France, UAE/Australia/Peru, Denmark, Tunisia
Group E: Spain, Costa Rica/New Zealand, Germany, Japan
Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea