Soccer fans around the world are excited for The World Cup in Qatar, a soccer tournament that happens every four years. It is a very important event for the international side of soccer, and this year 32 nations have qualified to play in this tournament that starts in November.

 In the qualifiers countries are split into different groups based on the region they are on the map. For example North and Central America are in one group, South America is in their own, Europe is in their own, Asia has their own, and Africa has their own group. And within those groups there are smaller groups that divide them, and each of the top teams of their group make it out and go to compete in the World Cup.

Sophomore Ilija Pupovac watches the World Cup because he believes that it is the most hype tournament in the history of sports. He thinks that Brazil is the strongest team, but he has confidence that Serbia can beat them. “I support Serbia because that’s where my family is from,” Pupovac said.

Junior Alex Gey likes that the games are all competitive and have high tension, and he knows how much it means for a team to win this tournament. He supports both USA and Germany for the reason that he lives and was born in the USA but he has grown up cheering for Germany. “I think that Brazil will win because they have a super talented squad and have a fairly easy road to the final,” Gey said. “I also think a lot of the other teams have too many uncertainties with their play whereas Brazil have very few. My sleeper team is Denmark for the same reason as Brazil.”  

Junior Bailee Anders grew up watching the World Cup whenever it was on and she enjoyed it. She watches the World Cup because she is a soccer fan and plays herself. “I think it is a little weird that the World Cup is happening in November because growing up it was always in the summer and in the winter soccer is not played outside,” Anders said.

USA’s first game will be on Nov. 21 against Wales, which should be a good game because the teams are closely matched in skill. The tournament lasts about a month, ending with the finals on Dec. 18.