GOAL!!! by Jayesh Mehta
Getting excited about the World Cup? I am. Sometimes it is hard to figure out which games count towards going to the Cup, which ones are Friendlies, and which ones are regional tournaments. I won’t explain about which is what. I just want to talk about the lead up to THE soccer (football for everyone outside of the US and Canada) tournament. Specifically, the CONCACAF and the subsequent Confederations Cup (this year it is before). The winner of the CONCACAF has the chance to go to the Confederations Cup in 2017 2015 winner plays 2013 winner to go, unless they are the same), which includes each continental winner, the previous World Cup champion, and the host nation. CONCACAF is essentially the Western Hemisphere countries, excluding South America. Historically, it comes down to either Mexico or the US as the champs. Mexico is tough right now, and they won the last Gold Cup in 2011. The US is also stronger now, and with a few lucky headers, could win. Canada could be considered a potential threat, but they don’t have the depth of the US or Mexico. My money (what little I have) is on the US to pull the upset on Mexico. I also think that at the Confederations Cup it will be Brazil and Spain, with Spain pulling the upset on Brazilian soil. Why? Just a feeling. Italy may be able to slip into the final, but they would need to beat Spain, and I don’t see that happening, unless
they flop better.
As we talk about the games, something else comes to mind: The announcers. American announcers are kind of drab, and end up talking about things other than the actual game (like the past…a lot about the past). Mexican announcers are fun, but I have no idea what they’re saying. Maybe it’s because I don’t speak the language, but not sure. The ones that I do understand, and are pretty entertaining are the European/British English announcers. They are not as fun as the Spanish speaking, overly informative as the Americans/Canadians, or as snobbish as the French (that’s just a guess), but they have a nice mix that will keep you entertained, and focus on the match at hand. There is no “GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!” but it’s OK, that’s what YouTube is for.
jm
