In just under two months, the World Cup will kick off in Brazil, no doubt making for an action-packed summer full of impressive performances by soccer’s most famous stars and heated games between national rivals. As the “biggest sporting event on earth,” the World Cup puts on heated matches among the world’s best national teams, and will feature 32 teams this year, in the process captivating hundreds of millions of viewers. Since the tournament’s beginning in 1930, the quadrennial competition has only been stopped twice: in 1942 and 1946 by the fighting of World War II.
This year though, that statistic seems to be in jeopardy, as host nation Brazil seems dreadfully unprepared for the June 12 opening date. Brazil is a soccer crazy nation, and has more World Cup victories than any other nation, but its passion for the sport hasn’t translated into successful preparations. Over half of the dozen stadiums planned for tournament play have not been fully completed or are not up to code in terms of safety.
Just this past Saturday, a worker tragically fell while building the arena in Sao Paulo. Already, seven deaths have occurred at World Cup venues because of accidents and safety problems. Concerns were high before the Opening Ceremonies in Sochi as to whether facilities and infrastructure would be ready, but comparatively, Brazil seems even farther behind.
My prediction is that, despite the doubts, Brazil will pull it off successfully. For Brazilians, soccer (my apologies, football) is a nationwide obsession. Since Brazil was awarded the tournament seven years ago, it has fully invested in the opportunity to stage the enormously popular event, and with a final push, will likely be ready to open its borders to the soccer fans who will soon flock there.
In terms of the actual game itself, Brazil is ranked 9th right now by FIFA, soccer’s governing body, but is always a threat to win it all, especially considering it will play on home turf. Other notable teams to watch are the Germans, who finished second in 2002 and third in 2006 and 2010. Spain, the winners of the 2010 cup are expected to be strong contenders again. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are still looking to lead their respective teams to glory.
I, for one, am not about to discount the Americans. Although we are placed in what is considered one of the most challenging groups, playing the formidable Portuguese, Germans and Ghanaians right off the bat and have to travel thousands of miles from the Amazon all the way to the coast, the U.S. team has improved significantly lately under the leadership of coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Arguably our best player, Clint Dempsey is one of the best forwards in the game, and is feared for his potent technical skills as an attacker.
Preparations continue to be an important factor in this summer’s world cup, but in all likelihood “the beautiful game” will come through in the end. During the Winter Olympics in Sochi, tensions with Russia overshadowed the games for many, but Brazil promises to unite people from 208 of the world’s countries, all under the banner of the world cup and the universal love of the game.
