In an extraordinary turn of events the United States will play its first game of the World Cup in South Africa next summer against the country’s oldest rival, England. The draw is a promoter’s dream. Outside of Mexico, England is probably the best fit for the Americans’ as a natural adversary.

The United States was born out of kicking British redcoat butt and though the Limeys like to point out they burned down the White House in the War of 1812 everyone knows that the Fourth of July has to be a bitter day every year in jolly ole London. Another bone of contention with the English is the 1950 World Cup match where the US won 1-0 over England in Brazil which still pisses of old Englishmen despite no one in America having any idea that it ever happened.

History aside, the USA got the best World Cup draw it has ever received for 2010 with its group consisting of England, Algeria, and Slovenia. No offense to the English, but the United States should really advance out of the group stage as Algeria and Slovenia are widely considered the weakest teams out of Africa and Europe respectively. Although every game is important in the World Cup, the US’s opener with the British will be the match up everyone will be watching.

Player for player England is a better team than the United States.  The Three Lions will be a handful for the American defense with world class stars in Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, Frank Lampard, and Steven Gerrard leading the attack. All of England’s players play in the English Premier League (outside of a certain Mr.  David Beckham who plays in America in the MLS) which is arguably the world’s best league while the US will be starting some players who undoubtedly play in inferior leagues.

The Los Angeles Galaxy's David Beckham will be looking to sink the Yanks in South Africa

The US has upset the world’s best before as was the case this past summer at the Confederations Cup where the Americans defeated FIFA #1 ranked team in the world, Spain 2-0 and lost a heartbreaker 3-2 to Brazil in the final. The Confederations Cup was also played in South Africa so the U.S. will have that experience in their favor when the two countries meet in the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace (where the US defeated Egypt 3-0 in the group stages of the Confederations Cup) on June 12th.

American players such as Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyweu, and Tim Howard have proven in the past that they can hang with top level players on a regular basis, but the rest of the US squad will have a lot to prove next summer when they step on the pitch with the world’s best. Throw in the history between LA Galaxy teammates David Beckham and Landon Donovan the game should be one of the most watched soccer games in America of all time.

Hopefully the Big Wigs at ESPN do their best to pump up the game as to maximize the all the interesting storylines that comes with the match. Being a Revolutionary War nerd myself, I’d love to see some historical references put into the promotion, but I won’t keep my hopes up. A victory over England next summer would be one of the greatest sports achievements in international sport in our country’s history while it would send the English straight into national mourning.

The money and promotion ESPN is throwing into the World Cup will allow Americans to view the event in a completely unprecedented way bringing in more viewers. A good showing at the World Cup this summer could inspire some kid somewhere in the United States to become the next Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi furthering the development of the sport in America. So get your Red, White, and Blue flags ready for next summer and let's show those Limeys we can still kick it 1776 style.

- Sean Heffernan

Are you looking forward to next summer's clash in South Africa? Share your thoughts below!

Who Will Make it to South Africa?

by Sean Heffernan

This week we saw all over the world a number of countries beginning to make their way toward South Africa, where in 272 days, World Cup 2010 will begin. The United States took two steps closer to qualifying with two hard fought victories against El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago. Many complained about the Americans difficulty defeating two teams who on paper were significantly inferior, but in World Cup Qualifying a win is a win. It was a great week in the Beautiful Game. So without further adieu here are my thoughts...

 1. Will the World's Two Best Players Miss Out on the World Cup?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are widely regarded as the two best footballers in the world, but it is very possible that they won't take part in the upcoming World Cup. Messi's Argetina lost twice last week at home to Brazil and then again days later away to Paraguay. As for Ronaldo, his beloved Portugal won a crucial game against Hungary 1-0, but will have a tough fight in the coming months to earn a playoff spot in their group if they want any chance of making it to South Africa. Argentina is currently in fifth place in South America and would have to face the fourth place team from the US's group in a playoff if they held their current position.

Who doesn’t want to see the best players on Earth play on the biggest stage there is in sports? Each player led their clubs to the last two Champions League Championships. Ronaldo is the most complete attacker in the world. He can score in any way imaginable on the pitch:  the run of play, free kicks, long range bombs, headers, etc. The 24-year-old just left Manchester United for Real Madrid on $132 million deal making him one the richest athletes on the planet. Messi won the Champions League with FC Barcelona over Manchester Untied this past season displaying his world class playmaking abilities. Messi can change direction with the ball like Barry Sanders and create scoring opportunities out of nothing. Despite both players brilliance, their countries are in real danger of not qualifying. It would be a shame if these two athletes, in their primes, on top of the world with their clubs, don't even make it to South Africa.

2. Remaining Questions for the USMNT

The United States should always beat El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago, but US fans can't expect them to blow them out every time they play. The US on Wednesday won a crucial match against T&T in the Port of Spain 1-0, putting themselves on top of their group. The top three teams make the World Cup automatically in the region and with Costa Rica looking terrible the US are pretty much are a shoe in for 2010.

At left back the US continues to struggle and former Mexican international Edgar Castillo, who was recently cleared to play for the United States, should get a real shot at the position. The only viable option head coach Bob Bradley has is moving over Carlos Bocanegra over to left back and playing Jay DeMerit in the center with Oguchi Onyweu. Jonathan Borenstien's ill fated clearance gave El Salvador an early lead last Saturday. The US cannot afford mistakes like that in the future. To Borenstien's credit he did have a better game against T&T, but not good enough to inspire any kind of confidence in US Soccer fans. Bradley could consider some new faces from MLS like Tim Ward of the Chicago Fire or Todd Dunivant of the LA Galaxy, but the coach doesn’t have a whole lot of time to make up his mind before next summer.

The US needs to improve on how they start games. They have given up to many early goals in qualifying and against better teams they won't have a chance at coming back. The second half of the T&T game was the first time in as long as I can remember that the US really possessed the ball for long periods of time. Once the Americans started sitting on the ball they took control of the game which resulted in the lone goal from Ricardo Clark. After a frustrating first half, Michael Bradley stepped up his game, distributing the ball out of the midfield with accuracy and grit. If the US can possess the ball consistently good things will happen.

3. The Battle for the Midfield

The other position battle is in the middle of the field, where US coach Bob Bradley's son Michael Bradley has been a constant in qualifying. Ricardo Clark, Benny Feilhaber, Maurice Edu, and Jose Francisco Torres have also been in the mix for the position in the past year. Clark scored the crucial goal against T&T on a wicked bending ball from outside the penalty box and is rumored to be moving abroad after this season with Houston. Feilhaber could be the best passer the US has outside of Landon Donovan, but looked better on the wing as a substitute against T&T as he did when he started against El Salvador in the middle.

There is a growing movement within US fans who want to see Jose Francisco Torres play more. The Mexican-American has been a solid contributor down in Mexico for his club Pachuca and showed promise when he's donned the Red, White, and Blue.  Torres really can play anywhere in the midfield for Bob Bradley which helps his chances of making the team in 2010.

Former Toronto FC man Maurice Edu was making his case earlier this year for as he worked his way into the starting lineup at Rangers. Edu was part of the Rangers squad that won the league title and the domestic cup in Scotland this past season. However, Edu had surgery on his knee in the off season and is slowly making his way back to the field. If Edu wants to be considered for the US team he will have to get healthy as soon as he can and get back into the Rangers roster.

The wild card in the battle for central midfield is German born Jermaine Jones, who is on the verge of becoming eligible to play for the United States. The 28-year-old is one of the best defensive midfielders in Germany with a knack for shutting down the center of the field and just being a bad ass. He's also known for speaking his mind freely and we shall see if his personality fits into Bob Bradley "group" mentality. To get an idea of both the good and the bad that comes with the Schalke midfielder check out this video.

In 2007 Jones helped Schalke advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. From the video you can tell he has a temper as in one clip he freaks out after being given an unjust yellow card for a superb tackle he made and earns himself a red card for dissent. Jones is coming off a hair-line fracture in his leg and has recently returned to training with Schalke and could be available for the US's trip to Honduras on October 10th.

We obviously have a real depth in the central defender role and we don't have anyone in our player pool who can be a Xavi or Steven Gerrad so why shouldn't Bob Bradley play two central defenders in the midfield. I almost wish Bradley would play a 4-3-3 with Jozy Altidore, Charlie Davies, and Clint Dempsey up top and Donovan in the midfield with two central defenders ( i.e. Bradley, Jones, Edu, or Clark). I'd rather have Dempsey up top where he's more comfortable than have him doing tricks with the ball in the midfield. I doubt that Bradley would veer from the 4-4-2 with less than a year to go to the World Cup, but it’s just a thought. The left back spot no matter what will be a question mark going into South Africa, but the race for the central midfield will be the most interesting by far on the US national team.

4. England Continues to Dominate

With England's thrashing of Croatia 5-1, the Three Lions are through to the World Cup with Wednesday's victory. One thing England really has going for them is that they have two of the best midfielders in the world in Steven Gerrad and Frank Lampard. You know Lampard and Gerrad are going come through for their squad whether it’s for club or country. They both just have a hero quality to them that few players truly have. The duo had two goals each in the drubbing of Croatia (whom happens to be ranked 9th in the world by FIFA). England was expected to win at home in Wembley, but not by that margin.

One question mark is finding a striking partner for Wayne Rooney. Manager Fabio Capello has been starting Emile Heskey who has only scored 7 times in 56 appearances for England. One would think Jermaine Defoe would be considered in that role as the Tottenham man has been red hot of late for both England and Spurs. Defoe has scored 11 goals in just 36 appearances. He's smaller than the physical Heskey or 6 ft 7 Peter Crouch, but if he keeps scoring goals the way he has than I don't know how Capello can keep him off the pitch.

Now that the English are qualified for the World Cup, it will be interesting to see how Capello experiments with his team for the rest of their games. There’s still a lot of time from now until next summer, but presently England looks like a force to be reckoned with.

5. Knock, Knock. Who's There? (Slap) KGB! We Shall Ask the Questions!

The Russians are coming! Andrei Arshavin and company defeated Wales and Lichtenstein over the weekend putting them second in the group behind Germany. If Russia can win at home against the Germans they’ll have a very good chance of winning the group. In what could prove to be a crucial blunder Germany tied Finland 3-3 last October currently leaving Russia just one point behind the Die Mannschaft. Russia’s captain, Arshavin is playing brilliantly for Arsenal and looks to be worth every penny the club spent on him. Striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has been on form for his country scoring 5 goals in World Cup qualifying wile Zenit St. Petersburg's Konstantin Zyryanov has been a creative force in the midfield for the Russians. Look for Russia to surprise a lot of people next year in South Africa as they did at Euro 2008.

Do you have any thoughts on the Beautiful Game? Please share them below.

In a new segment, soccer writer Sean Heffernan takes the pulse of the American soccer landscape. Today's installment touches on the MLS All Star Game, the U.S.'s failure in the Gold Cup Final against heated rival Mexico, Manchester United's hopes for another EPL title, Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu's loan possibilites, and the upcoming L.A. Galaxy/Barcelona friendly. Enjoy! ...

1.       MLS All-Star Game: The Most Entertaining All Star Game in Sports

Last night the best players in Major League Soccer squared off against English Premier League club Everton in Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. Instead of the typical interleague East vs. West format other American sports use, MLS chooses one squad of All Stars and plays a club from overseas. American soccer fans get to see the best players in their domestic league (MLS) as well as stars they normally would never see play.

In terms of quality of the actual game the MLS is ahead of the rest of the country’s professional sports leagues. The MLB All Star game is bound in controversy over the World Series home field advantage rule and more people seem to enjoy the Home Run Derby than the actual game. The NHL All Star game is a watered down version of hockey with very little checking.  Five minutes into the NBA All Star Game you realize that every play ends in a dunk. No one watches the Pro Bowl. I don’t know what it is about soccer, but last night you could tell that both squads were going full speed. Seeing stars like Landon Donovan, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, and Freddy Ljungberg putting in a whole hearted performance is much more entertaining to me then watching Kobe, Lebron,and Shaq playing at 70%. Inside Rio Tinto Stadium (brand new soccer specific home of MLS side Real Salt Lake) the crowd of over 20,000 got their money’s worth on the field.  

After 90 plus minutes the game was tied thanks to a clinic put on in both nets by current and former U.S. National Team goalies Tim Howard (Everton) and Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders FC). In the penalty shootout, both goalies continued to display their brilliance in net blocking numerous free kicks (most goalies can only muster a save or two in penalty kicks if their lucky) In the end Tim Howard made one more save then fellow countrymen Kasey giving the victory to Everton.

2.       The Golden Disappointment: Mexico’s Thrashing of US in Gold Cup

I was at Soldier Field for the Gold Cup semifinal doubleheader between U.S. vs. Honduras and Mexico vs. Costa Rica. Towards the end of the U.S. game it was really noticeable how tired the U.S. squad was. A late game injection of Kenny Cooper galvanized the American squad for a second goal, but I felt Bob Bradley would have to mix up the lineup for the final as to put the freshest team on the pitch in New York against Mexico. Instead U.S. coach Bradley put the same starting 11 out against Mexico leaving hungry players like Kenny Cooper, Sam Cronin, and Santino Quaranta on the bench. The US played Mexico to tie at half, but Mexico made early subs whereas Bradley held off aiding his tired squad until it was too late and the Mexican onslaught ended in a embarrassing score line of 5-0. Bradley simply mismanaged the U.S. squad’s fitness going into the final. Our boys simply ran out of legs. Hopefully, we’ll get some revenge in the massive World Cup Qualifier against Mexico in Azteca coming up in a few weeks.

3.       Man United Looks Pedestrian Without Ronaldo and Tevez

Despite selling Cristiano Ronaldo for a fortune, Manchester United has yet to buy a big name this offseason as they prepare to defend their English Premier League title for the second year in a row. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson signed Englishmen Michael Owen even though the former Newcastle striker hasn’t been in form for a few years. However, I did watch a classic match on FSC when Owen played for Liverpool and in the early part of this decade he was one of the best forwards in the world. Still, without the creative spark of a Cristiano Ronaldo or Carlos Tevez I would not be surprised to see the Red Devils fall behind the likes of Chelsea or Liverpool this year in the EPL.

4.       Americans Abroad Transfer Talk: Altidore and Adu Up in the Air

Last season was a lesson for both U.S. youngsters Jozy Altidore and Freddy Adu. Altidore and Adu spent last season on unsuccessful loan deals from their respective clubs. Altidore looked promising earlier in the year earning a few appearances for Villarreal in Spain, but was loaned to Segundo club Xerez where he never saw the field. Former child prodigy Freddy Adu was loaned from his Portugese club Benfica to Ligue One side Monaco, but the 20-year old never really figured into the team’s plans while in the south of France. Now back with their original clubs both Americans are looking for more playing time. Rumors had been swirling around Altidore going to Greece and playing for Olympiakos, but no deal ever materialized. The latest news on Altidore is that Spanish club Malaga CF is back in the hunt for the striker according to goal.com and radio reports out of Spain. As for Freddy Adu there was reported interest from an unnamed Dutch club a few days ago, but he is now currently training with Benfica.

5.       David Beckham and the Galaxy Face Barcelona in the Rose Bowl  

This month European clubs such as Chelsea, AC Milan, and Inter Milan have drawn huge crowds across America hinting at a growing fan base for “The Beautiful Game” stateside. This coming Saturday’s match between David Beckham’s L.A. Galaxy and Champions League winners, Barcelona, should  add to what has been a great summer for soccer in this country. There should be a great atmosphere inside Pasadena’s massive Rose Bowl. Barcelona has two of the biggest names in world football on roster in Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi along with a slew of other world class stars. Messi has to have the inside track for FIFA’s Player of the Year award after leading Barcelona past Manchester United in the Champions League Final earlier this year in Rome. Saturday’s game should be competitive as the Galaxy are currently playing wonderfully in MLS while Barcelona’s squad is out of form with the La Liga season kicking off at the end of August. Regardless, this David vs. Goliath match should make for good television (Saturday, 8 P.M. EST, Fox Soccer Channel).

Feel free to comment below!

Sorry Dwight.

So yeah...nobody told us that part of the deal with having a website was that you have to know, write on it regularly. Admittedly, we've been about as productive as a GM plant the past few days. But in a nutsehell, here's what you missed:

The Lakers now lead 3-1 in the NBA finals after their second OT win in four games.

You gotta feel for the Magic. Homeboys can't finish. Both overtime losses shouldn't even have made it to OT as they blew leads late in both games AND choked in the waning seconds of regulation when they had opportunities to regain the lead and put the game away - twice. Kobe still complains too much and Howard can't hit a free throw to save his life. But how about D. Fisher?!?! OMAGOD!!!! Dude could be the next big shot Bob. His late in regulation 3 poiner, followed by a clutch 3 in overtime did more than anything else to twist the knife in Orlando's back. As much as I hate to admit it, I'll be very surprised if this series makes its way back to the City of the Angels. The Magic are simply outgunned.

Playmakers at 'Bama are in a whole heap of trouble for getting free textbooks.

My personal feelings about Nick Saban and the integrity of any program he's a part of aside - we're missing the point here. These guys weren't getting free clothes, or cars or hookers or blow - they were given free text books. You know - to learn? Like you do in college. Can't we just chalk this one up to "perks of being a student-athlete" and be happy they even wanted text books. I didn't play college sports. Learning was the whole reason I was there - and there were semesters where I didn't have a single text book. Also - let's cut the shit and call this what it is. These guys make millions of dollars for the school every year. We can pay their tuition, but not for their text books? They can take a free x-box from a bowl committee, but not from a booster? They can get free shoes from Nike, but not from an agent? Let's lighten up on the hypocrisy and stop forcing these kids to live in a "take this, not that" environment. Do you remember college? You were 19, poor as hell and far from home. You would have taken just about anything for free.

Getting off the Soapbox...

Game of the Stanley Cup Finals is tonight at 8 on NBC for the 5 of you who care.

I'm predicting a close game, possibly an overtime or two, but barring a Marc-Andre Fleury miracle, Detroit's experience and depth will win out.

Apparently Ronaldo is playing for Madrid now.

I have no idea what any of this means, but Sean said it was important. I guess Real Madrid is going around being the Red Sox to ManU's Yankees - flexing their checkbook in an effort to be top dog - Ahhhh Capitalism.

Chicago baseball teams are disappointing.

I'm not sure what's acceptable down on 35th St. but here on the North Side, .500 ball isn't OK. The Cubbies trail The Brew Crew by 2.5 games while the ChiSox are a whopping 5.5 back of the Tigers.

Let's see, what else?

Meth in Nascar...no big shock there. Rednecks + Speed = Meth. Right?

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=4245969

Vick cut by Falcons...Canada is in for a treat.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4253231

Manny says the wrong thing...Again.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4249022

Mickelson to play in next two PGA events before family vacation and begininning of wife's treatment. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Mickelson family.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4248964

We'll keep writing. You keep reading. Ready? Break!

-Wild Bill

The U.S. are in the group from hell featuring Italy (defending World Cup Champions), Brazil (currently ranked 5th in the world by FIFA), and Egypt (the champions of Africa). If the United States somehow musters itself out of the group stage.

U.S. head coach Bob Bradley redeemed himself after a woeful loss against Costa Rica last Saturday with a hard fought victory over Honduras in Chicago. The U.S. head coach is bringing most of the team from the past two qualifiers to South Africa, but it will be interesting to see who gets the start in the opening game against Italy on June 15 (All games will be aired on ESPN or ESPN2). Here is my starting 11.

Goalie - Tim Howard
No surprise there. Guzan makes me nervous.

Center Back - Oguchi Onyweu
Gooch is investing a lot in this tournament professionally as his play might dictate what kind of offers he gets from European clubs this summer. The former Best 11 defender in the Belgian league is currently a free agent. In the game against Honduras Gooch looked much better than he did during the chaotic match in Costa Rica.

Center Back - Carlos Bocanegra
Captain Carlos earned his stripes on that corner kick sacrificing his face for the game winning goal in Soldier Field where he use to suit up for the Chicago Fire. Hopefully Boca is recovering from the injury and will be fit to play in the Cup.

Left Back - Jonathan Borenstein
Borenstein is certainly not a sexy pick, but the kid did enough against Honduras to earn the next start. The Chivas USA standout combined well with Landon Donovan on the left and worked hard the entire match.

Right Back - Jonathan Spector
Though I may be bias because I grew up in the same town as the West Ham defender, but Spector played a great game on Saturday. He may not have the killer instinct nor the intangibles of a healthy Frankie Hedjuk, but he has great technique, gets forward, and knows how to cross a ball better than anyone we have at right fullback.

Left Mid - Landon Donovan
A lot of commentators said before the Honduras game that Donovan needed to show up and show up he did. As the game progressed he displayed that his skill set was a grade above the majority of the players on the pitch that night. Donovan tied the game up with a vicious penalty kick and delivered the corner kick that resulted in the second goal. That's the Landon Donovan we all want to see.

Right Mid - Clint Dempsey
Though "Deuce" had a few missteps in Chicago his header set up the winning goal and he was on the offensive all night with he ball. His backheel to Ricardo Clark was sick. The U.S. is going to need some more magic from Clint if they want to advance.

Center Mid - Michael Bradley
Coach Bob Bradley's son is a lock in the middle of the field for the national team with his consistent play and aggressiveness on the ball. Growing up around the sport Bradley has a really high soccer I.Q. and a leader on the field even though he isn't much more than a teenager.

Center Mid - Ricardo Clark
The Houston Dynamo midfielder was all over the field on Saturday night. He covers more ground than any holding midfielder in the U.S. player pool. Though not the most dangerous attacker we have Clark was robbed of a penalty in the box against Honduras.

Forward - Jozy Altidore
The 19-year old has already scored 6 goals for the U.S. in his international career. Altidore is the future of the U.S. attack, but his lack of fitness was evident in the qualifiers. I can't wait to see him when he's in form with both club and country simultaneously.

Forward - Connor Casey
The Colorado Rapid did a decent job filling for Brian Ching. Missed a couple of key opportunities, but I liked his pressure on the ball. I would prefer Kenny Cooper, but Bradley didn't call the FC Dallas forward in for the tournament. However, if Casey gets some quality service from the midfield he could light some defenders up.

Bench

DeMarcus Beasley
Jose Francisco Torres (or Freddy Adu)
Benny Feilhaber
Jay Demerit
Brad Guzan
Charlie Davies

1. No One Wins at “The Purple Monster”Estadio Ricardo Saprissa is one of the hardest places for any country to win. Saprissa’s turf is probably the worst FIFA approved field in the world and it was evident that the Americans were never comfortable on the pitch Wednesday night. U.S. has never won at Saprissa nor has any country in 2010 World Cup Qualifying. Good news is that a new stadium in Costa Rica is being constructed and I doubt the U.S. will ever have to play in “The Purple Monster” again. Excuses aside the U.S. sucked beyond any field excuse, but conditions certainly didn’t help their cause.
2. Jose Francisco Torres: Not Just a Fun Name to Say AnymoreThe one bright spot in the game against Costa Rica was the calm presence on the ball of one Jose Francisco Torres. Therefore it left many soccer fans scratching their heads when at halftime Bob Bradley chose to substitute him for Sacha Kljestan. The midfielder who we stole out from under Mexico’s nose doesn’t score a lot of goals, but he facilitates beautifully through the midfield. I think he earned another start for this Saturday against Honduras.
3. The Return of Connor CaseyNot long ago Connor Casey was known only as “that bald guy in Colorado who was suppose to be the next Brian McBride, but never panned out”. Ok, perhaps everyone didn’t refer to Casey exactly like that, but his career with U.S. soccer was written off by many. Towards the end of last year Casey went on a goal scoring spree that has spilled over into this season in MLS with a league leading 8 goals. Casey was called into the U.S. team for the Honduras game with striker Brian Ching likely out again with injury. Casey has the size to play the role of the big striker that the U.S. typically features and his shiny head is good for knocking crosses into the back of the net.
4. Saturday’s WCQ Against HondurasU.S. Soccer is reporting that 50,000 tickets have already been sold to Saturday’s World Cup Qualifier against Honduras at Soldier Field in Chicago. Soldier Field only holds 61,000 fans so the game should be near capacity which in itself is a great victory for U.S. Soccer. Getting 50,000 fans to a soccer game that doesn’t involve David Beckham or the U.S. vs. Mexico rivalry is a great achievement. U.S. Soccer has been pushing the game hard with advertising and their hard work is paying off.
5. Soccer is On the Rise in AmericaThe day is coming when soccer fans in the United States can mingle with the rest of the American sports landscape as “The World’s Game” is growing in popularity stateside. This past winter’s U.S./Mexico game set T.V. records with over 11 million watching the game on Univision and ESPN2. ESPN invested much more this year in the UEFA Champions League Final and boosted viewership by 33-34% from the previous year as 1.4 million Americans tuned in.

   The MLS has no doubt benefited from successful expansion clubs such as Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders who nearly sell out every game while the worldwide media storm Beckham created when he came over the pond two years ago has helped the league garner some attention as well. However, the future for the MLS is in the quality of soccer it puts out on the field and I feel that the league is getting better talent wise every year. So don’t cry U.S. Soccer fans, soccer is on the rise.