The USA is going to Brazil! The United States Men’s National Soccer team qualified this fall for the Fifa World Cup 2014 in Brazil. The World Cup occurs every four years, much like the Olympics, in a chosen location that’s different each time.  The men’s soccer team is in one of the best positions they’ve been in their 100 years of existence with a FIFA Ranking of thirteen, four above England’s seventeen spot. FIFA is the Federation Internationale de Football Association.

The US squad will be looking to improve from their 2010 campaign in South Africa, in which they got eliminated by Ghana in the round of sixteen, after winning their group comprised of three other nations. With quality characters like captain Clint Dempsey, star goal scorer Jozy Altidore, and Talisman Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley, the squad has a fighting chance of winning it all. Joe Spohn, ‘14, said “After watching many of the USA’s world Cup Qualifiers, it’s apparent that they will be one of the teams to beat this summer”.

The soccer culture in America is really picking up the pace with the fortified “twelfth man” known as The American Outlaws. The Outlaws are a supporters group who follow the national team across the globe, cheering them on with every win. The group, comprised of tens of thousands of individuals is at its peak right now, just in time for Brazil. The World Cup begins in May of 2014, with all of the USA’s games being broadcasted on ESPN along with many more matches between other countries. The tournament of thirty-two nations is truly “the world’s party” and always brings along much excitement, especially in fun-loving Brazil.