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World Cupdate: So far, spectacularI want to start today with a hedge: I know it’s early. It’s so early. But five days into the World Cup, a tournament we worried would become a farce has instead been a force of compelling soccer and even more compelling stories. A simple list of the incredible things we witnessed just yesterday:1. Cape Verde’s unbelievable draw
When I talk to non-soccer friends about the World Cup, I end up putting everything in football terms. Do you think a 2-0 game sounds boring? Why not think of it as a 14-0 game? They’re only down three goals, that’s a doable comeback, right? Imagine if your team was down 21-0 at halftime. Etc. These analogies can also apply to the teams involved. So when Spain faced off against Cape Verde, a first-time World Cup qualifier, it’s as if a college football juggernaut played an NAIA school. And imagine if those teams tied. That’s what happened, and it’s one of the most incredible results in the history of this tournament. A 40-year-old keeper playing second-tier club soccer in Portugal kept a clean sheet against a team of killers. My colleague Phil Hay told me it goes “straight into the World Cup shocks compilation.” Read how it all happened here.
