Wilmington Hammerheads connections to the 2022 World Cup, and what else to watch for
Carson Porter is currently the executive director of Wilmington Hammerheads Youth and former general manager and manager for the Wilmington Hammerheads USL pro soccer franchise during its time in the Port City. He gives you a primer into what you will want to see as the World Cup takes over for the next month.
The World’s most popular sporting event, the FIFA Men’s World Cup has kicked off, and there are some things that I think you should know.
To start, the World Cup is being held in the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar. If you are asking "Why Qatar?" and if you are curious enough to dig into the answer, you will be shocked. I’m not the person to explain all the moving parts to how and why Qatar is the host nation, and this column isn’t long enough, but do yourself a favor: pour a drink and watch "FIFA Uncovered" on Netflix.
You don’t have to love soccer, you don’t have to understand soccer, and you don’t have to be excited about the World Cup. The story of how Qatar was awarded the FIFA World Cup will blow your mind.
After you have dug into where the World Cup is being held, which also does a lot toward answering the other curious question of why this World Cup is being played in November and not in its traditional summer time slot (hint: the average July temperature in Qatar is 106 degrees with daily highs of 112), it is time to enjoy the best sporting event in the world. Here are a few things I’ll be thinking about.
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From Wilmington to Qatar
When you watch this amazing event, watch Canada and find Marc-Anthony Kaye. Marc-Anthony was 17 years old in the summer of 2014 when he got on a plane from Toronto to Wilmington. He was loaned (a common practice in soccer) from Toronto FC of Major League Soccer to the Wilmington Hammerheads in hopes of getting some game time and professional minutes.
Upon arrival, he carved out a place in the team, earned valuable experience as a young person and is now in Qatar representing his country – the highest honor that any player will achieve. Canada plays its first game Wednesday vs. Belgium.
He'll be joined by another former Wilmington Hammerhead playing for his country. Christian Bassogog was one of two Cameroon players added to the former USL side for the 2015 season and played in 16 games. Now playing in the Chinese Super League, Bassogog and the Indomitable Lions open their tournament Thursday vs. Switzerland.
When you watch the U.S., find Tyler Adams. He’ll be the player in our midfield breaking up plays, tracking the opponent’s top attacking players and making smart, simple passes that set his teammates up for success. He did these exact same things at Legion Stadium in the summer of 2015.
Now 22, Adams was 16 he signed his first professional contract for the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer. He played his first professional season for the Red Bulls’ reserve team and travelled to Wilmington for a regular season match at Legion Stadium. He now plays for Leeds in the English Premier League, earning millions of dollars, and will be one of the most important players for our success.
Leo and Cristiano
Soccer fans throughout the world have been spoiled.
For 15+ years we have watched the two greatest players of all time compete at their prime. Yes, "of all time" and, yes, better than Pele and Maradona. Leo Messi of Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal are the best players to ever play the sport, and this is the last major event that the two of them will compete in.
The only American comparison that gets close to this is having Michael Jordan and LeBron James both at their primes competing year in and year out for trophies.
Who’s the best? For me, Spanish World Cup winner and Leo Messi’s teammate at Barcelona, Gerard Pique said it best when he was asked this question, “Ronaldo is the best human to have ever played, but Messi is not human.” Regardless of your view on Messi vs. Ronaldo, we can call ourselves lucky to have watched these two and we should all enjoy their last World Cup.
USMNT hopes at the World Cup
The United States Men’s National Team is good, really good.
No one will want to play us, and what was once a team that was “annoying” to play against, but traditionally beaten by the sport's powers – Brazil, England, Argentina, Spain – traditionally beat, is now a team with players in top leagues throughout the world that can compete against anyone and believe they can win.
That doesn’t mean we are going to win, but there will be belief, and with that belief comes excitement, entertainment and passion. Let me stop here with a spoiler alert: The U.S. will not win the World Cup. We don’t have enough history, we don’t have enough experience, and we don’t have enough talent. But it’s going to be fun!
We play Wales, England and Iran over the next 10 days. Two of these four teams advance to the knockout stage where anything can happen. We should expect positive results vs. Iran and Wales, and the England game should be a "we have nothing to lose" game.
I have watched countless hours of soccer in my lifetime. I have become numb to big games and dramatic moments, but the World Cup is different. I will be cheering, screaming and celebrating this month with all the emotions and passion that this wonderful game produces. Here’s to hoping for a quarterfinal appearance for the U.S. - the first since 2002, and for Leo Messi and Argentina to lift the World Cup, solidifying Messi’s place as the greatest player of all time.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington Hammerheads connections to 2022 World Cup
