At Prep, the World Cup has been all the rage both during and after school hours. While kids may be bored during Community Period or lunch, they are able to turn on a game between two countries they likely don’t follow and be entertained. It’s easy to hear a shout in the Commons when a team scores. Prep decided to take it a step further one day after school when it hosted a viewing party of the USA vs Iran game in the Commons. (Student Council decided to take initiative on this topic and let Ms. Eppler know about the game and its consequences so shout-out to them for making this happen!) The game actually ended up being one of many exciting World Cup matches throughout the time in Qatar, but this one was special because an American victory meant a push into the Round of 16, where the team would face the Netherlands. 

While most of the school sat in 6th period classes eagerly awaiting a goal, Christian Pulisic came through in the 38th minute on a play that would give him a pelvic contusion, ruling him out for the rest of the game. From that point on, America began to play very defensively, bringing its midfield back. Iran’s many attacks proved to be unsuccessful, despite a full-throttle advance in the last 10 minutes of the game. The incessant goal opportunities from Iran had the entire country on edge as it seemed America could concede a goal at any moment. Yet, the American defense and goalkeeping prevailed.

Although America has never been much of a soccer-focused country, this berth gave Americans hope and excitement for the USMNT. The game against the Netherlands was early in the morning, but much of the country was focused and ready to support. However, that support quickly faded when the Dutch scored in the 10th minute of the game. America seemed to be in control, but once attacks inevitably failed the Dutch would race down the pitch and score, taking advantage of a tired American defense. America was down 2-0 at half, deflating any hope of a win. The Dutch continued to dominate the Americans strategically and the goals showed this result. Haji Wright scored in the 76th minute for the United States, on a fluky goal where everything went right. Five minutes later, the Dutch went up 3-1 and won with that score. The Dutch counterattacks were simply too much for the American defense to handle, while their offense was unable to make use of countless scoring opportunities.

With the United States out of the World Cup, there were many other interesting storylines. The one that most seemed to connect with was the Cinderella story of Morrocco. Coming in as a team with low expectations, they finished in the semi-finals, becoming the first African team to reach that stage. Another great story was Messi’s (likely) final World Cup. Facing major doubts for his inability to lead Argentina in previous tournaments, Messi has showed out with the most goals and assists so far.