Yeah I don't buy that. Costa Rica and Mexico were just as close to scoring as we were. It may be true that the other teams in the region have shown a bit more enthusiasm than usual when playing against us this cycle, though. We're not exactly loved in Latin America at this point.
omg. like. you're sooo right! nice thinking there. this is what too many venti pumpkin spice frapuccinos does to you kids
This tells you who to root for!! https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/world-cup-quiz/ I got Sweden (why not?), followed by Costa Rica (while I usually support CONCACAF in the WC, can't root for them this time since they punked us twice), and Argentina (MESSI!!!).
I'm cheering for Iceland. I love Iceland. I love the country, I love the people, I love the story behind their team, Gylfi Sigurdsson is my favorite non-Spurs/non-Yank player, etc. Áfram Ísland!
I'm waiting for Qatar, personally speaking, if/when the USA qualifies. I suppose that'll put me in the minority here.
Mother Russia. Current team sucks badly, but they will play 3 games in the weakest WC18 group and might play 4th as well.
The Mexico/US dynamic is very complicated.................................. I think you'll find that there are just as many that want Mexico to do well as there are that want Mexico to fail. Most wouldn't "adopt" Mexico as their team in a tournament that the USMNT isn't in, but they also wouldn't actively root against them.
Very few root for the same team to win World Cups back to back. Also, there's the Confederations Cup Curse. I'd go for the maiden teams, Panama & Iceland, just because it's always fun rooting for true underdogs and in World Cups, experience matters. What country has done well in their first appearance? And I don't mean Slovakia (already participated as part of Czechoslovakia) or Ukraine (already participated as part of the USSR), but teams from countries that have never been there. Of course World Cups before WW2 were full of debutants, so let's leave those out too. Even England, who only deigned to participate in a World Cup in 1950, didn't make it past group (because of us). I guess the most successful first-timers were back in 1958, when the Soviets, Welsh & Northern Irish played for the first time and all three survived their groups (back then they went straight to the QFs). But perhaps the most successful World Cup virgin ever was Portugal in 1966: first time, and made it all the way to the semis, beating Brazil and Hungary (back then, Hungary was a name said with respect, in soccer) on their way there. North Korea, another newcomers, also survived their group that year beating Italy in the process.
Your 538 tool gave me Iceland but I just can't do it. I can't bring myself to root for those prettyboys. Give me an ugly group of neerdowells from some corner of the world where hope is fleeting and resources are tighter than a RATM live show in 1993. Rooting for Iceland is like giving wikipedia money to avoid ads. I should want to but I just can't enjoy it.
You honestly believe this? Sure, teams are starting to play you hard, but make no mistake, in the entire North America, Mexico is the evil empire. Every team except maybe Canada, goes life or death against Mexico and turns up the heat hoping to beat us.
I think it's not necessarily their fans, it's the fans that troll us on these boards, and the fringes of their fanbase at the stadiums. While most Mexicans probably despise Trump, they understand that he doesn't speak for the majority of Americans (anymore). My team in this WC will be Belgium. Love me some Hazard and KDB. I was gutted to see him get taken down by that punk in the last Citeh game, but delighted to see him start the next game against Watford. One would think that with those two attacking with a healthy Dembele (Spurs) and hopefully a few stone thinner Lukaku in Russia, they may be able to compete for something this time.
No, I root for the USA only. I do. I want every CONCACAF team to get their clocks cleaned. When the qualifiers for Qatar come around in the next few years, that will apply to T&T, too. I also want our next coach to mark that qualifier with T&T on the calendar, especially if the USA is in a position to eliminate them from qualifying.
I will be rooting for Mexico! The idea that I wouldn't root for Mexico because of their fans is hilarious given the fans that support the u.s. Men's National Team who are amongst the ugliest dirtiest most disgusting despicable human beings I've ever come across
I'm rooting for all three CONCACAF teams, although I'm fine with Mexico being eliminated in the Round of 16 again. I don't want them to go far enough to get bragging rights over us. I'd love if Panama could win a game. Outside of CONCACAF, I'm rooting for England and Australia.
Technically speaking, the World Cup is for individual countries, so there is no United States of Europe. Now I think I'm beginning to understand why as a country, we never cared for soccer or were actively hostile towards it for much of our history. It's the condescension constantly shown towards us at every. single. opportunity. The little slights and seemingly innocuous insults like this guy's post.