The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

The official student news site of Athens Drive High School

ATHENS ORACLE

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World Cup Preview

This summer has the stage set for the 2014 World Cup in 12 cities located in Brazil. These cities include Manaus, Fortaleza, Natal, Recife, Salvador, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Porto Alegra. The tournament starts June 12 and runs through July 13.

Every time the World Cup is played, they will have an official logo, match ball, song, mascot and instrument. The logo is entitled “Inspiration” and was designed by a Brazilian agency called Africa. The ball is called “Adidas Brazuca” or just “Brazuca.” Adidas is the maker of the ball, and they have been the match ball provider since 1970. This year the instrument will be called “caxirola.” Even though this was named the official instrument, it has recently been banned inside World Cup venues due to security reasons. This year’s instrument is softer than the previous “vuvuzela.”

The previous World Cup was in 2010 and held in South Africa. Spain defeated Netherlands 1-0 with the help of Andres Iniesta goal. He scored in extra time in the 116 minute. A total of 145 goals were scored, and average of 2.27 per game.

This year, Spain hopes to defend their title, but first they will have to get past the group stage. There are eight groups, classified by letters, with four teams in each. The groups are Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Cameroon and Mexico. Group B: Spain, Netherlands, Chile and Australia. Group C: Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan. Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, Italy and England. Group E: Switzerland, France, Honduras and Ecuador. Group F: Argentina, Iran, Nigeria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Group G: Germany, USA, Portugal and Ghana. Group H: Belgium, Algeria, Russia and Korea Republic. In group play, teams will play the other teams in their group in round robin style. Three points will be awarded for a win, one point for a tie, and zero points for a loss. The first and second teams of each group will advance and make the “Round of 16.”

In the Round of 16, the winner of group A will play the runner up from Group B, and the winner of Group B will play the runner up of Group A. This format continues with Groups C and D, E and F, and G and H. From here on out it is survive and advance. The teams will have one shot to advance to the next game, not six.

Many people believe the host country,  Brazil, will go on to win with the help of their fans.

“Brazil will sweep the World Cup harder than the game minesweeper,” said Grant Finkbeiner, junior at Athens Drive.

The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) has now qualified every time since 1990. Given 1994, they qualified automatically thanks to the US hosting the World Cup. Jurgen Klinsmann will be the head coach for the USMNT during this year’s tournament.

Last Year, the USMNT advanced out of group play with a total of five points in three games played. They had a crucial three points awarded to them by beating Algeria 1-0 with a goal scored by Landon Donovan in the closing minutes of the game. In the round of 16, USA lost to Ghana 2-1. That was the end of their 2010 World Cup campaign. They will seek vengeance this year for not going as far as they wanted last time around.

Klinsmann’s resume consists of playing for several European clubs before coaching and winning the 1990 World Cup as a player on West Germany. In 1995 he was voted third in the FIFA World Player of the Year award. His coaching career starts with the German National team. From there he finished third in the 2006 World Cup with them. After stepping down from the Germany National team, Klinsmann coach well-known Bayern Munich during the 2008-2009 season. He was released early from the club. Since mid 2011, Klinsmann has been coaching the USMNT.

Key players for the team include captain Clint Dempsey, veteran Landon Donovan and a come up player Michael Bradley. USA has recently come out with a new home kit for the tournament, consisting of a blue and white stripe then red down the rest.

The U.S. hopes to gain more respect by winning its first World Cup ever. Klinsmann and company will have to get past Klinsmann old squad Germany and Ronaldo and crew over at Portugal, first though in the group stage.

This year’s tournament has a lot of hype around it. Many teams have a chip on their shoulder and want to win. Andrew Mitchell, junior at Athens, chimed in on all the talk.

“It’s been a long four years waiting for the most exciting time I’ll ever experience,” said Mitchell.160px-WC-2014-Brasil.svg (1)

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