This year the World Cup has been dominating the media, as many students here have been watching, and there have been some shocking outcomes.

Argentina beat Poland 2-0 to win first place in the group. With the loss, Poland was banking on Saudi Arabia to stop Mexico and they came in clutch for Poland. Mexico beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 but the one goal given up by Mexico sent Poland to the round of sixteen where they played France. Mexico after brutally getting eliminated plans to cut their ties with head coach Gerardo Martino after a lackluster performance at the World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are both saying this will be their final World Cup. Both of these players are fan favorites. Although in his first game, Messi who plays for Argentina, lost against Saudi Arabia. It was one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.

Although, the USA qualified World Cup, and advanced to the round of 16 sixteen. This has many Americans excited for the team’s future. I was personally excited to see the U.S. team play against England. This is all based on the fact that the team star, Christian Pulisc, can play. After scoring the only goal in the game versus Iran that ultimately sent the U.S. to the round of sixteen. Pulisc has made such an impact on this team offensively and how they are able to move the ball up and down the field.

After a crazy last day of the group stage, the knockout stage is finally set. After the first day, the U.S. were defeated by the Netherlands and they could never really find an offensive stride. The U.S. lost a key chance to take a lead early in the game when Christian Pulisic had a shot on goal in front of the goalie. However, the goalie managed to get a knee on the ball and ultimately block the shot. With a final score of 3-1, I think that the U.S. team really lost this game at the end of the first half. When they gave up the second goal in the stoppage time. That both put the game out of reach and gave the Netherlands momentum going into the second half where they ultimately carried over and won the game.

Being in the U.S., and in general, a soccer fan, I was happy to see all the excitement built up for these young teams. Even for the USA team that did so much better than anyone else would have thought. Also, with all the upsets this year in the group stages, it shows that not even the powerhouses like Argentina and Portugal are the only good teams in this tournament. With Japan qualifying and Germany not making it past the group stage, it was hard to see and it was shocking, to say the least. Belgium the second-ranked team in the world is out in the group stage. This puts a sour end to the golden era of Belgium soccer.

With so many exciting games already finished I cannot wait to see the madness in full effect from now on in the World Cup.