A Brief United States World Cup History

Soccer may be one of the least popular sports in the United States for a variety of reasons.  Many Americans enjoy the more sensationalist sports with high scores such as basketball and football. Americans don’t appreciate the ‘diving’ which is essentially when a player fakes a foul or injury to draw a call.  Another reason may be the lack of commercial time available due to the sport’s constant play, therefore not creating strong network support because of the lack of advertising opportunities.  All these may be factors in why the U.S. just doesn’t seem into soccer, however, there are still some interesting facts about the World’s most popular sport in America that we thought we’d share during arguably the greatest sporting event of all time, the World Cup.

World Cup History Facts

• The United States’ best World Cup finish was in 1930 when they finished third after losing to Argentina in the semifinals.
• The “Miracle on Grass” happened in 1950 when the U.S. team upset the English team 1-0, recorded by some as the greatest upset  in soccer history.
• The U.S. didn’t appear in a World Cup between 1950 and 1990.
• It wasn’t until 2002 that the U.S. made it through the group stage to face off against Germany; however the team lost over some controversial circumstances.
• 2006 & 2010: the U.S. is knocked out by Ghana in back to back tournaments to miss the elimination rounds.
• 2014: The U.S. advances from the “Group of Death” but is knocked out in the first round of elimination by Belgium in overtime.

The Future for U.S. Soccer

Soccer has had strong growth in the United States for many years now.  Maybe this is proof that the U.S. will make a strong run for the World Cup in the near future.  Only time will tell.  However, this World Cup, the U.S. played with a lot of heart and gave fans everything they had to offer.  Great job guys and go USA!