After Argentina won the world cup for the third time on December 18, 2022, Lionel Messi, the Argentinian World Champion, is believed to have completed all stages of soccer. Unlike previous years, this World Cup was held from November through December instead of June through July. This schedule change made it so that many students had to watch games during school; it was evident that the students were very passionate about the World Cup.

Ethan Jones is a sophomore who actively watched the World Cup during class and the generals period. He is originally from the United States but is in a military family, so he travels a lot. Despite his home country being in the World Cup, he supported Morocco.

“What it would have meant for Morocco to win, it would have been super significant to see an African country win,”Jones said. “I would have really liked to see that.” 

Morocco is the first and only African country to make it into the semi-finals. The last time an African country made it into the quarter-finals was Ghana in 2010. The World Cup is a worldwide event, unlike football and basketball, that many countries compete to participate in. To Jones, it is very important and significant for people and their countries, especially after the pandemic.

“These past few years have been really turbulent,” Jones said. “It still proves that humans still love each other. We still work together. We can still fight for something that we all want.”

Despite not cheering for the US, Jones believes people supporting their countries is essential to their identity and helps create international connections despite not being political.

“It means the world coming together and really having a whole connected identity,” Jones said. ” Everyone [comes] together from different languages and cultures playing the same sport.”

Maron Deremeske is an Ethiopian sophomore, Ethiopia has never qualified for the World Cup, but four other African countries did. She believes that even if her own country could not win, it would bring her joy for an African country to succeed.  

“[I am] just a bit disappointed [that an African country didn’t win],” Deremeske said. [It would be] a great sense of pride in the community, especially one mainly driven by white people.”

The World Cup has been greatly dominated by Europe and South America throughout history, especially Brazil, with a record five World Cup titles. Argentina has defeated Europe’s four year winning record, becoming the first South American country to win the World Cup in over a decade.

“[The World Cup] does its best to involve everyone, every country and to showcase different cultures,”  Deremeske said. “I think it brings the world together. It gives people something to talk about. It’s interesting, and it showcases a lot of great talent.” 

According to Sport For Business, soccer is the most popular sport in the world with a staggering 3.5 billion fans worldwide, so it would make sense for the World Cup to be the most-watched sporting event internationally. To Gloria Fosso, a junior, this is because soccer is included in many cultures worldwide.

“Soccer is a big thing in a lot of cultures,”  Fosso said. “The World Cup is something that is an intersection where all these cultures have something that they can all enjoy together.” 

Gloria Fosso was born in Cameroon. While she was raised in America, she supported her birthplace. Cameroon qualified for the World Cup several times but in the past got eliminated in the group stage, It was the same in 2022.

“I would have so much pride if Cameroon won the World Cup,”  Fosso said. “Honestly, I would brag about it like every single day. It would be so cool.”

The World Cup has brought people from all over the world to one place to enjoy a common sport since 1930. To many people, their country winning the World Cup would mean everything, and that is why these students believe the World Cup is important.

“It’s a good way to show pride in your country,”  Deremeske said.