I have been looking forward to this year’s World Cup for months now. The Fifa World Cup is held every 4 years and it is always so exciting to see which countries have qualified for it. Many of the world’s nations go head-to-head in order to qualify for this extensive soccer tournament. It is also divided up into different groups, A-H, which consists of 4 different nations competing against each other in order to advance to the next rounds. This year, the World Cup is held in Qatar which is the first Middle Eastern Nation to host it. The tournament is historically held in the summer months, however, due to Qatar’s hot weather in the summers, they moved it to the winter. The 2018 World Cup was held in Russia with the champion nation being France.
There are players who are now competing in their very last world cup ever and then there are players who are just starting out. It is incredible to see the world come together for this tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are just a few of the many players who are competing in their last World Cup. These well-known figures are some that make up the beauty of this tournament and it is emotional to see them compete for the last time.
The United States has come a long way in its journey toward this tournament, as it usually does not make it past the first few rounds. This year players, like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, are stepping up to the challenge to take on their fellow group nations like England, Wales, and Iran.
Back here at home, the (American) football season is coming to a close. Raleigh celebrated over the weekend as NC State just defeated rival UNC at an away the day after Thanksgiving. Some other shocking games were those between Ohio State and Michigan (Michigan won) and Clemson and the University of South Carolina (USC won). Basketball season has also started, and we are excited to see what is to come!