Seth Romsa

Summer brought a number of thrilling matches and hopefully a ton of new fans to the beautiful sport, as the World Cup finished up its run.

Surprises came early and often, but didn’t last until the end of the tournament as the top four teams made it to the end.

Cape Verde proved to be the biggest surprise of the tournament, taking Spain all the way to a draw in the only nonvictory for the eventual champions, and proving difficult for the eventual runner-up as Argentina needed extra time to advance.

This year’s expansion of the tournament featured a number of upsets that I don’t believe we would have seen in the past, like the disappointment of Germany against Paraguay or Norway announcing itself on the international stage by beating Brazil and taking England down to the wire.

The United States proved it could improve and belong on the big stage, but beating a major European nation in a knockout match is yet to be seen.

Once the dust settled Spain reigned supreme for the first time since 2010, as my favorites proved why they are the best team in the world once again with their intense passing and pressing.

Following the disappointing opening performance, La Roja battled back and didn’t concede a goal until the quarterfinals against Belgium, which would be the only goal Spain conceded the whole tournament.

France proved to not even be an issue despite a high-powered attack, as Spain shut down the insane attacking potential and secured a comfortable 2-0 win.

The final proved to be severely underwhelming, as Spain dominated from start to finish and Argentina didn’t even register a shot until extra time.

People were thrilled by the third place match, but many true fans know neither team took that game seriously apart from getting stats in your favor for a final prize such as the Golden Boot.

Records fell left and right, including the all-time scoring record which Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe tossed back and forth throughout the tournament, breaking Miroslav Klose’s record, as Mbappe stood on top by tournament’s end.

Moving forward I would not be shocked if Spain turns into as much of a dynasty as last time, having won two European Championships in a row in addition to the World Cup from 2008-2012.

The youth within the Spanish squad means the future continues to be bright, with minimal replacements likely needed for a dominant run to ensue.

France, England and others, will remain as an obstacle especially in two years in the United Kingdom, but Spain will likely be the favorite moving into 2028 and 2030 for the 100th year of the World Cup.

That tournament will be a spectacle, but causes many problems for hosting beyond 2030 as special opening matches in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay to mark the 100th year will coincide with the main tournament in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

That means three federations are hosting the 2030 tournament, and could see the tournament return to the United States and surrounding countries as quickly as 2038 due to FIFA’s host requirements after Saudi Arabia hosts in 2034.

For those interested in following the sport, the main European leagues kick off within the next month, as preseason training has started at most clubs for players who didn’t participate in the World Cup.

The MLS is currently ongoing within the United States as that competition is currently midway through the season, and will continue until December.

Most European countries kick off to coordinate with the World Cup schedule, and will have a number of competitions throughout the year in which to participate.

Looking forward to next year the women get their shot at the title in Brazil, where the Spanish women are hoping to retain the title alongside the men.

That competition should be thrilling from start to finish as the women’s game is relatively even now, and any team can make a run at the title.

I hope everybody enjoyed the summer of soccer in the United States, and continues to get active in sports whether it be soccer or anything else moving forward.