I’m bumming over the early departure of the US team from the World Cup. But, all is not dark. The simple fact that I’m bumming over the loss says alot. I don’t remember ever grieving in the past. Usually, there is no expectations of the US team. It’s always been Italy that I have placed my money and hopes on in the past. This is the first time that I ever had high expectations for the US team.

The US team had failed to qualify for nine straight tournaments beginning in 1954, since 1990, the team has now qualified for five consecutive FIFA World Cups, a string that is surpassed only by Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Spain, and South Korea.

The US soccer team has steadily gotten better over the years. The team has been consistently ranked in the top 15 of the FIFA World Rankings; its highest-ever rank was 4th, first obtained in April 2006. More members of the national team than ever now have successful careers in European leagues, and the country’s youth team is strong, as shown by the under-19s winning the 2005 Milk Cup.

US soccer is getting better, and will continue to do so. We will see you in South Africa in 2010!

This entry was posted on Friday, June 23rd, 2006 at 8:57 am and is filed under Pop Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.