The 2006 World Cup was going to be our year to show the world that we belong on the world stage in soccer. The Americans boasted a squad with quite a bit of international experience and a hunger to show the world that they belonged. Coming into the 2006 World Cup, the United States team was ranked 5th in the world by FIFA. Another great sign of hope was that the Americans made it to the Quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, which gave everyone hope that this could be the year everything was going to come together. For one of the first times I could remember people in America were actually excited about the World Cup.
The first soccer match for the United States was against the dangerous Czech Republic. The United States gave a lackluster performance and was dominated by the Czechs 3-0. This loss was a huge blow to the psyche of the American soccer team, but it would help them focus in their next match. One of the best teams in the tournament, Italy was next in line for the Americans, so things looked grim. It appeared that the United States team was going to disappoint again. However, the
American soccer team displayed the skills and toughness everyone expected to see from them this year, and fought for a tie against the Italians 1-1. With Ghana beating the Czech Republic, American soccer once again had an opportunity. If Italy beat the Czechs, and the United States won against Ghana, the Americans would be into the Quarterfinals of the World Cup again. Italy beat the Czech Republic, but the United States suffered a very disappointing loss to Ghana, 2-1.
After the disappointing first round exit from the 2006 World Cup, the American soccer team fell from 5th to 16th in the FIFA World rankings. This was a huge setback in the American’s struggle to reach the pinnacle in soccer. However, we will not be disappointed for long, because the women’s soccer team is tuning up to make their run at the upcoming World Championships. Once again we will have to pin all of our hopes on the women’s soccer team to win on the world stage.
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Written By: Gabriel J. Adams
