America failed to make the World Cup. Here's who you should root for instead.

Hop on the bandwagon, yanks!

Egyptian soccer fans.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)

After years of qualifiers, months of hype, and weeks of roster speculation, the 2018 World Cup is set to finally kick off Thursday in Russia. Thirty-two teams from around the world will descend on Moscow, St. Petersburg, and nine other cities to compete for four years of global bragging rights.

The U.S. men's national team, after a spectacular flameout on a muggy night last October in Trinidad and Tobago, will not be among them. So if you're an American outlaw — or just another neutral fan marooned without a favorite team — who should you root for?

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Luis Paez-Pumar

Luis Paez-Pumar is a freelance writer based out of New York City, specializing in sports and culture commentary. A graduate of New York University, Luis lives in Brooklyn with a small pug named Clyde. In his free time, he spends his time watching too much television and trying to read books faster than he can buy them.