Nearly half of the world’s population watched the last World Cup, which happens every four years. Therefore, the topic of soccer is going to be unavoidable for the next month.
If you can’t beat 'em, join 'em,
The Last Night’s Game Team
The Five Things You Need To Know About The World Cup
1. Starting tomorrow and for the next month, the world’s eyes will be on Russia as they host the best 32 teams in the world in their fight for the global title. Not in the battle? A team from Italy and the U.S. It has been 60 years since the Italians failed to qualify for the World Cup and 32 years for the Americans. BUT WHY?
2. FOX paid over $400 million for the broadcasting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup. Despite shelling out that cash, 8 of the 12 broadcasters will be calling games from a studio in Los Angeles, not live from Russia. Guess they forgot to include funds for a travel budget? On the bright side, Aly Wagner will become the first woman to call a men’s World Cup soccer game. KUDOS ALY
3. With the United States out of the tournament, who should you cheer for? How about Team Iceland? They’re the smallest country to ever qualify for the men’s World Cup (population 330,000), it’s their first time ever playing in a World Cup AND their coach was a dentist up until two years ago, so give it up for the underdog. (Not to be confused with the under bite – obligatory dentist joke). WHO TO ROOT FOR
4. Three of the best soccer players in the world also happen to be three of the highest paid athletes on earth, but what’s the one thing they all have in common besides big bank accounts? No World Cup trophy. You can catch Lionel Messi (Team Argentina - #2 in the world in getting paid), Cristano Ronaldo (Team Portugal - #3) and Neymar (Team Brazil - #5) as they fight for the one thing they can’t buy. LAST CHANCE
5. The host team automatically qualifies for the tournament so Russia is in. What’s also in right now in Russia? Smiling. Apparently workers who will interact with the influx of tourist (ex. train workers) have been learning how to smile in hopes of dispelling the stigma that Russians aren’t friendly. SAY CHEESE
Bonus: Announced this morning – a joint bid by Canada, Mexico and the United States to host the 2026 World Cup has been successful. Canada and Mexico will host 10 of the games and the U.S. will host 60. MORE
Let’s talk about today
Living life in the present? Here’s what everyone is bantering about over their bacon this morning including an epic championship day, a scholarship surprise and they spent how much on booze in the past week? READ
