The U.S. is great. Except for in the lyrical realm of soccer, where the proper way to say it is the U.S. “are” great. Then again, nobody ever says that, because we Americans aren’t great at all — let alone exceptional — when it comes to soccer, aka un-American football, at least not on the men’s side. Heading into the World Cup that got underway this week in Qatar, our national team was ranked a modest 16th by FIFA, which, in case you didn’t know it, is short for Federation of Immoral Financial Arrangements.
Our lads drew 1-1 against Wales on Monday in their opening match of a quadrennial tournament the U.S. has (have?) never won. Brazil leads the way with five championships; Germany and Italy have four each; Argentina, France and Uruguay have two apiece, and England and Spain one. We’re still stuck on bupkis, but maybe this is our year?
