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Good morning, I'm Patrick Andres, filling in for Dan Gartland today. I have to wonder whether the residents of Sunrise, Fla., are ready for that much Tkachuk.
In today's SI:AM:
🏀 Storm's dunking phenom
🏈 NFLPA plotting for future
🏀 Congress coming for college heavyweights
A World Cup on island time
When FIFA announced its plan to expand the World Cup to 48 teams back in 2017, the skepticism was instant (this is FIFA, after all). Would the change water down the prestige of sport's most celebrated tournament and the quality of play? Was it simply a calculated move to include fast-growing nations with limited soccer history, such as China, India and Indonesia?
So far, the answer to all three questions has been a resounding no, and that owes much to the performances of some of this tournament's least-expected participants. This weekend, two of those teams delivered stunning upsets.
First, on Saturday, Curaçao—a side ranked between Montenegro and Guinea in the FIFA standings and hammered 7–1 by Germany in their opener—ground out a thrilling 0–0 draw against Ecuador in Kansas City. The hero for the nation of 155,000: goalkeeper Eloy Room. Room, a 37-year-old Eredivisie veteran who plays for Miami FC in the USL Championship, pulled off an astonishing 15 saves in one of the finest goalkeeping displays in World Cup history. The soccer profile of a country far more recognized for baseball in the U.S. continues to grow.
The following day, Cabo Verde—already buoyed after holding Spain to a 0–0 draw in their opener—faced down Uruguay in Miami Gardens, Fla. The African side took a 1–0 lead through a 21st-minute strike from midfielder Kevin Pina, then rallied from 2–1 down to claim a 2–2 draw and position themselves well ahead of their group-stage finale against Saudi Arabia. Uruguay may be soccer's ultimate overachiever relative to its size—a nation of 3.5 million boasting two World Cup titles—so there was a certain irony in watching them held by an even smaller nation.
Not to be outdone by its fellow island nations, New Zealand threatened to complete an unlikely hat trick of results Sunday night. Portland Timbers defender Finn Surman gave his side a 1–0 lead over Egypt in the 15th minute, but the Egyptians rallied to win 3–1.
This weekend has raised two questions: how are these nations pulling this off, and why has the World Cup expansion proven so well-received beyond its commercial appeal?
Many explanations have been offered for the first, including "spillover" from elite nations and loosened FIFA eligibility criteria. Those are fair points, but the bloated modern soccer calendar cannot be ignored. Top players and nations arrive at the tournament more worn down than ever before, even before accounting for how little time international squads often have to build chemistry. While far from a perfect equalizer, that does give teams like Cabo Verde and Uruguay a rough parity they wouldn't otherwise enjoy on paper.
As for the second, here's a theory for the domestic audience: the expansion of the World Cup actually feels like a genuine addition, even (gasp) a sensible one. A world that has grown steadily more prosperous and diverse over time should allow more nations to compete for its greatest sporting prize.
That stands in refreshing contrast to the only sporadically logical inventory rush that has taken hold of North American sports since the COVID-19 pandemic—a 14-team NFL playoff, a 12-team MLB playoff, a de facto 20-team NBA playoff, a possible 24-team CFP, and two 76-team NCAA tournaments. Few Auburn men's basketball fans will recall a brief appearance in the "First 12" two decades from now. A fan from Burkina Faso's potential World Cup memories, on the other hand, will last a lifetime.
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Pat Forde: Congress Is Coming for the SEC and Big Ten's College Sports Empire
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The top five…
…most interesting World Cup moments from this weekend (nations of usual sizes edition).
SI answers is our AI answer engine trained on human-created content.
5. Egypt couldn't have mounted their comeback against the Kiwis without winger Mo Salah, whose first goal of this World Cup was a stylish one.
4. Côte d'Ivoire winger Simon Adingra will regret this late missed opportunity against Germany, which opened the door for forward Deniz Undav's stoppage-time winner.
3. Total football, if not totaalvoetbal, from the Netherlands.
2. American outlets tend to fixate on a Japanese cultural norm they should be familiar with by now, but it truly is (to borrow a British expression) class that Japan's supporters cleaned up after their team dismantled Tunisia 4–0 in the much-anticipated 1,000th World Cup match.
1. Spain winger Lamine Yamal's dazzling goal to open his side's account against Saudi Arabia—the first of many, no doubt.
Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having previously worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history.