Sunday, May 20, 2018

South American Teams Surge in Weeks Leading Up to World Cup


A resident of South Carolina, Andrew Khoury majors in kinesiology at Charleston Southern University. A longtime fan of international soccer, Andrew Khoury works as field and stadium setup manager with the Charleston Battery, a United Soccer League team. 

With the 2018 FIFA World Cup approaching, national teams were busy preparing their players for competition and getting in last minute matches against international squads. 

Colombia recently played against the French in the Stade de France and turned in an impressive late-game comeback. With Luis Muriel and Radamel Falcao spearheading a sustained late game attack from a 2-0 deficit, Juan Quintero delivered the decisive game winner on a penalty kick with five minutes remaining. 

Also taking to the road in Europe was Argentina, which played without Lionel Messi, who was out with a minor leg injury. Despite the absence of their star, players such as Giovani Lo Celso, Fabricio Bustos, and goaltender Willy Caballero stood out in a convincing win against home team Italy. 

With Brazil anxious to make up for its home turf implosion in the last World Cup, these results indicated that South America would be a force to be reckoned with once the national teams take to the field in Russia.