# Can the United States win the World Cup? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 10, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708 "2010-06-10T21:49:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![arwor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/cab0a1/32.png) [@arwor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arwor)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/1 "2010-06-10T21:49:37Z")
Of course, it can’t. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/2 "2010-06-10T21:55:28Z")
Can they? Of course they could. Will they? Check the Vegas odds and answer that question for yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/3 "2010-06-10T21:55:29Z")
Wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/4 "2010-06-10T22:46:40Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Can they? Of course they could. Will they? Check the Vegas odds and answer that question for yourself. Looks like the USA is currently at 66/1. Cameroon, Denmark, Ghana, Greece, Serbia and Uruguay are all also at 66/1. That is not the tier you want to be at if you expect to win. Spain for comparison is at 4/1. Given the USA’s level, not advancing out of group play would be a disappointment. Advancing beyond the round of 16 would be exceeding expectations (given that their most likely opponent will be Germany). Winning it all would be a remarkable achievement. Not a Detroit Lions winning the 2011 Superbowl achievement, more like the Houston Texans winning the 2011 Superbowl achievement, but an achievement none-the-less. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/5 "2010-06-10T22:50:56Z")
GQ: theoretically yes IMHO: probably not Game Room: live update on Team USA! BBQ: I hate soccer etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/6 "2010-06-10T23:01:58Z")
Stranger things have happened. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/7 "2010-06-10T23:17:51Z")
Sports threads are more well suited to the Game Room. Moved. **samclem** Moderator, GQ ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/8 "2010-06-10T23:31:21Z")
The USA has a real good shot at winning the World Cup in 2024. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Nene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/da6949/32.png) [@El\_Nene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Nene)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/9 "2010-06-10T23:37:50Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > The USA has a real good shot at winning the World Cup in 2024. They have zero chance of winning the world cup in 2024. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/10 "2010-06-10T23:40:59Z")
> [@El\_Nene](#): > > They have zero chance of winning the world cup in 2024. :smack: Meant to say 2026. ---
**Author:** ![TimCereja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@TimCereja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimCereja)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/11 "2010-06-10T23:41:34Z")
Consider the effect of the US actually winning the World Cup. Like most have said, it’s very unlikely, but it would cause international chaos were it to occur. Imagine a country where soccer is probably the fifth or sixth most popular sport defeating the rest of the world where soccer is #1 without question. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/12 "2010-06-10T23:57:47Z")
But the resources and the population from which the US draws their talent are much larger than most other nations, **Tim**. Look at their development in the past 20 years - in 1990, I believe they had only one player, Paul Caliguiri, playing in a top Euro league; now they’ve got practically the entire squad playing for Euro clubs. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/13 "2010-06-11T00:01:43Z")
“it would cause international chaos” Really! Wowsers! What are we looking at … civil disobedience, the fall of democratically elected governments, red ink awash on the bourses, disruptions to airline services? Or a 3 minute coverage on the main news bulletin, and a few replays on the sports channels, the same as if Brazil, Germany or Spain won? ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/14 "2010-06-11T00:06:03Z")
If France can win it, anybody can win it. ---
**Author:** ![TimCereja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@TimCereja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimCereja)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/15 "2010-06-11T00:51:49Z")
International chaos was meant a figurative sense that I assumed would be inferred. It would be a minor story in the US, but imagine the media in just about every other country. ``` The US has improved remarkably over the last twenty years. 1994 was the first World Cup for which the US had qualified since I believe 1950, and they haven't missed one since. The US team is now considered a good one by international standards, but not elite ... ``` ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/16 "2010-06-11T01:25:06Z")
If, as you claim, the US winning the World Cup would be “a minor story in the US”, that is a bigger worry. The world media didn’t go into any frenzy in 2002 when Turkey and Korea played in the semifinals and looked serious contenders. Both were lower ranked than the US is for the 2010 tournament. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/17 "2010-06-11T01:34:16Z")
Because those are nominally soccer countries, and the US tends to treat the sport with some disdain. There’s also a (probably well founded) fear that the US would be insufferable were it to win yet another sport, and one that it only barely cares about. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/18 "2010-06-11T01:42:06Z")
“the US would be insufferable were it to win yet another sport” ??? As a point of order; what other international sport has the US won? I think that if the USA were to win the World Cup that the world football community would consider it a good thing. The US women winning in 1999 was a good thing too. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/19 "2010-06-11T01:48:53Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > “the US would be insufferable were it to win yet another sport” > > ??? As a point of order; what other international sport has the US won? Basketball and numerous Olympic sports, not to mention that the US regards itself as the best baseball and (gridiron) football country (the latter pretty unassailably so, but still). If the US starts to do well in the World Cup, even winning, and really starts to put its efforts into it, a lot of the other countries around the world fear they’ll never have a chance to win again. Trust me, the last thing most of the world wants is for the US to become a consistent world power in soccer. As far as the women’s WC, that doesn’t have even close to the importance internationally. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708/20 "2010-06-11T02:05:34Z")
If the US won the world cup, would Americans care? There are probably tons of sports where Americans have done well, but for whatever reason, it never really captured the imaginations of American children. Nobody in the US ever grew up with dreams of being a champion sumo wrestler, [baduk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_(game)) player, that stupid game where you brush the ice, or cricket. I don’t think fears of international frenzy are founded. Americans just don’t care about being the best in everything, ever. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-the-united-states-win-the-world-cup/542708.md?page=2)