Soccer is the fastest growing sport in the United States. The country continues to make giant strides in a sport that has dominated the thinking of sports fans in Europe and South America for generations. Will we one day see Team USA win the World Cup? That seems a long way away at present, but there’s no doubt US soccer is sprinting in the right direction.
Major League Soccer rates as the top tier in the United States and boasts some of the biggest names in the game, including former Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy and England attacker David Beckham. “Golden Balls” is now working behind the scenes to grow Inter Miami CF, who play in the Eastern Conference.
Many traders working for major sportsbooks listed at vegasbetting.com believe The Herons could be the future of soccer in the states. At present, that’s very much a work in progress as Becks and co play the long game in their quest to bring glory to DRV PNK Stadium.
USWNT ranked number one in the world
MLS may be leading the way in US soccer, flying the stars and stripes, but they have major competition for the main attraction, and it’s coming from an unlikely source. Far from the packed stands of fans cheering on the team coached by Phil Neville, we have women’s soccer which is fast becoming more popular than the men’s game. While the best men’s teams are forced to import talent from overseas, the women’s squads are benefiting from a steady stream of American girls coming through the ranks.
Soccer at the grassroots level in the states is far stronger and much more promising if you are a follower of the female teams. From school kids learning the game at weekends to college players desperate to make it into the big leagues and add their name to the Team USA talent pool, there’s plenty to get excited about. It’s already beginning to pay off at the national level with the United States Women’s National Soccer Team climbing through the world rankings.
They are currently the number one female team on planet soccer according to FIFA and have held that position since August of this year but have disputed pole position since 2017 and have never been lower than number two. That’s quite an achievement when learning the men’s team is currently 13th in the world and has been as low as 35 in the FIFA table back in 2012. The girl’s look to be America’s best hope of ruling the sport.
USWNT has won multiple awards in recent times, winning the World Cup four times and ending as runners up once. They got off the mark with their first title in 1991 and followed that with glory in 1999, 2015 and 2019. The Stars and Stripes also boast four Olympic Gold medals, a silver and a bronze, eight CONCACAF Championship and Gold Cup and a host of other respected honours.
Lions down Wheaton
The Emerson Lions very own female soccer team are enjoying success of their own, and there are several members of the squad with aspirations of making it to Team USA one day. The Lionesses showed their fight when scoring a battling win over Wheaton to roar to another victory, one that caught the eye of those in the know, including big team scouts.
It was Wheaton that took the lead in that match, going into the halftime interval protecting a 1-0 advantage thanks to a goal scored by Lily Brown, who curled a fine effort into the net. Emerson returned to the field at Rotch Field for the second half and looked like a team reborn, immediately getting fans up out of their seats. Simone Barragan-Shaw drew the teams level before Alianna West-Rodriguez netted a dramatic late winner to complete the turnaround.
That hard-fought win followed some more comfortable victories, with Lions hammering Mount Holyoke 6-0 before an empty stadium with spectators banned from attending. September also brought a 4-1 win over Saint Joseph’s and a 2-1 over Plymouth St. Will we see a product of the Emerson Lions one day win the World Cup? It’s certainly possible.