World Cup Fever Even without the U. S., this will be a summer to remember
World Cup Fever Even without the U. S., this will be a summer to remember
By Trevor Tosto Chieftain Staff
Four long years have passed and the time has finally come again for the World Cup, the greatest sporting event to watch, hands down. The 2014 Cup was probably the craziest thing I’ ve ever seen. The U. S. pulled off an unbelievable story, advancing to the Group of 16, before sadly being put to bed by the big boys of Belgium.
This year, the U. S. didn’ t even qualify for the World Cup. This is possibly the biggest embarrassment in sports history( besides Italy not qualifying). How don’ t you qualify for the tournament? They literally played all their games on molehillcovered pitches in, let’ s be real, countries you didn’ t even know existed. Embarrassing
The Americans will be missed at the World Cup, but there are plenty of teams to root for that are STACKED. Brazil looks invincible, Belgium looks unstoppable, and France looks overpowered. People who don’ t support soccer will be cheering on Messi’ s Argentina and Ronaldo’ s Portugal.
I expect big results out of Argentina. Prodigy Dybala should light it up next to Messi. Portugal isn’ t just a one-man squad, as we found out through the 2016 Euros, but I just don’ t have confidence in them.
Defending champ Germany has a squad to compete for the trophy again, but they may be overpowered this year. Look for the Germans to go down in the Round of 8. Some slept-on teams: Uruguay: Don’ t be surprised if you
hear Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani all over ESPN-- they mean business. Egypt: Mo Salah. Know this man. Senegal: Fast and strong, this team will be catching looks at the tourney. South Korea: May not go far, but Son
All eyes are on the showdown in Moscow this summer
Heung-Min is always a threat.
For me, it’ s Brazil’ s tournament to lose. Every position is slotted with a player that makes headlines. However, that’ s been the case before, and Brazil has cracked under the immense pressure. 2014 was embarrassing for the host team, losing 7-1 to Germany in the semifinals, and now it’ s time to redeem themselves. I have a lot of faith in Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, and Coutinho.
I love a lot of the players on France. Griezmann deserves something, anything but a Europa League Title. The 2016 Euros should have been France’ s, but Portugal got in the way. This team should be a top runner, and I wouldn’ t be shocked if they make the finals.
Belgium? Fast: Check. Physical: Check. Big: Check. Dynamics: Check. I was very impressed with this team in the Euros, all the way up until the quarterfinals against Wales. Big stars like Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, and Lukaku should give Belgium a run. Maybe I’ m a little biased because I always chose this team in the World Cup feature on FIFA 14, but this team is legit.
Last, but not least, it’ s always Argentina. I have a bittersweet feeling about Argentina’ s campaign. Messi deserves this. A World Cup title is the one thing he needs and, without a doubt, deserves.
I can’ t see Messi playing in the 2022 World Cup, so this could be all-ornothing. I still believe Brazil or France will win it all, but, man, am I rooting for this team!
NBA Teams since 2000 1. Los Angeles Lakers‘ 00-’ 02 2. Golden State Warriors‘ 17- present 3. San Antonio Spurs‘ 03-’ 07 4. Boston Celtics‘ 08
5. Detroit Pistons‘ 04
-DaRon Gilbert
BROTHER RICE HIGH SCHOOL CHIEFTAIN PAGE 4 JUNE 2018