By: Tess Letendre—School News Editor

Soccer fans have spent the past four years eagerly awaiting for The World Cup to officially begin. Games start on November 20, 2022, in Qatar. 

There is a lot of build-up waiting for the time of The World Cup, “It happens every four years so it’s a rare occurrence. It’s hard to qualify for the tournament so there is a lot of anticipation,” said Sharon high soccer player Joe Oliveira.

The fan energy is unmatched in the soccer community and seeing all countries conform together to watch their nation is exhilarating, “I think it’s because you can support anybody in it, your nation and your country, and see them go head to head with neighboring countries, or countries far away you don’t see match up very often,” said Miguel Vasconcelos. 

The World Cup brings together nations across the world to bond and competes over everyone’s common love for soccer. “I think it’s the fact that in this sport, some of the smaller nations of the world are represented and so that allows more people to come together and enjoy the sport,” said Sophia Pandey. 

The fan enthusiasm reaches further than just the game. “It extends beyond the sport and it’s like a tribe that’s beyond the game,” said Rhys Davis. “There’s a lot more passion for the team and the supported country.” 

The passion within the team comes from the love of the game and the history that lies beneath the game. “Each team walks onto the field with their nation’s pride on the line, the history of their country, and the historical conflicts they have had with other nations hanging over the match. Often a nation’s playing style is a reflection of that country’s unique cultural values,” said SHS teacher Mr. Sean O’Reilly.

There are a few hot takes on who will end up in the final match, but a lot of opinions consist of similar matchups. “It’s going to be Portugal, guarantee. They’re definitely making the finals this year. It’s going to be Portugal and Argentina and that’s the final that everyone wants to see,” said Vasconcelos. 

“Argentina and Portugal, I like that. It would be really cool to see Messi and Ronaldo play in the finals,” Matthew Baur also predicted. 

From another perspective, there is only one other pair that is predicted to make the final match. “Brazil is the favorite to win it all. I would guess the final will be Brazil vs. Argentina,” said O’Reilly. 

“Brazil and Argentina,” agreed Oliveira

Despite the different predictions for the final match, it seems to be common knowledge how far the US will make it in the tournament. “I think they’ll make it out of groups, but will get knocked out in the first round of top 16 playoffs,” said Pandey. 

“I think the US will second their group, just below England, even though England is in a bad run, I think they’ll come out top of their group, US second and Iran third, and Wales fourth because I think Iran has some good players,” added Vasconcelos.

“The World Cup attracts generations of fans, and I am beyond excited to watch the tournament this year,” said Vasconcelos.