The FIFA World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world. This summer, eyeballs from every continent will be glued to their screens as the world’s finest soccer stars square off, carrying the dreams of their nation to South Africa. The USA, who has qualified for the month-long tournament every four years since 1990, is again part of the 32-team field.
What makes this World Cup so intriguing is an opening match with a popular opponent. Based on the sheer luck of the draw, the U.S. Men’s National Team will play perennial soccer power England in what could be the most watched game in U.S. soccer history. The popularity of England’s national team combined with the support in this country for the USA, will make this match the leading sports storyline in newspapers, TV programs and bar conversations all over this country. As luck would have it, the game will take place on the first Saturday of the World Cup and will be the last match of the day, with a kick-off time of 2:30pm ET June 12th on ABC.
While most prognosticators are favoring the higher-ranked England squad, the USA may have history on their side. This is the first time the USA will face England at the World Cup since a famous 1 – 0 upset 60 years ago. That match became the subject of a 2005 film, The Game of Our Lives, and is widely regarded as the greatest game in U.S. soccer history. For the match, the USA will wear their new 2010 jerseys, which have a “sash” extending from the right shoulder down to the left side. This design echoes the uniform design reminiscent of the 1950 squad.
Several U.S. players are well known to England because they play in the Premier League, including goalkeeper Tim Howard (Everton), midfielder Clint Dempsey (Fulham), defenders Jonathan Spector (West Ham) and Jay DeMerit (Watford), and forward Jozy Altidore (Hull).
U.S. Midfielder Landon Donovan, whose cardboard cut-out looms over the Merchandise Mart ‘L’ station from the Stone Ward Chicago office and who recently completed a highly impressive 10-week loan to English club Everton said about the 2010 World Cup, “We’ve been waiting a long time for this opportunity. This is everything to me.”
Only one big question remains for this Revolutionary War re-match on June 12th: Who will fire the first shot heard round the world?
U.S. Group Play Schedule
The schedule for the United States’ opening round games in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa:
June 12: vs England in Rustenburg, South Africa
June 18: vs Slovenia in Johannesburg, South Africa
June 23: vs Algeria in Pretoria, South Africa