Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, the most watched sport in the world as well as the most played sport in the world. An average estimate of about 3.5 billion are tuning in to watch this year's World Cup held in Qatar which is almost 45% of the world’s population. The Super Bowl garners about a 100 million people on average; against the numbers of the Soccer World Cup there is no comparison. It is in many ways the working people’s sport. Places where monopoly capitalism or imperialism has gained a foothold from the poorest barrios and favelas of Latin America to the slums of India, soccer reigns supreme and in many ways is an escape from the conditions of deprivation and poverty. Some of the best players in the world come from these conditions.

This year’s cup, which will end December 18, sparkled with fantastic moments of drama. Several upsets caused by the Middle Eastern and Asian teams – namely Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Japan as well as the African teams of Morocco, Tunisia and Cameroon – made for an excellent watch and smashed the myth of European dominance several times over.

Morocco’s excellent run throughout the cup was seen with great delight throughout Africa and the Arab world. On their way to the semi-finals Morocco defeated Belgium 2-0 in the group stages and finished top of the group, winning against Canada and drawing the game against Croatia.

This would be Morocco’s first win in the competition since 1998 and the victory was significant because Belgium entered the contest ranked number two by FIFA. Morocco would then go on to defeat Spain in the round of 16, in a penalty shootout wherein the Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou saved three goals while Achraf Hakimi scored the winning penalty to send Morocco to the quarter finals. Morocco would again come out on top against Portugal in a tight, cagey game that was decided by a towering headed goal from Yousef En-Nesyri almost mimicking Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal would exit the world cup and it would more than likely be Ronaldo’s final bout.

Morocco’s intensity, determination and world class defensive performances from their captain Romain Saïss and Achraf Hakimi would place them in the semi-finals, becoming the only African team to do so in history. Their fans would relish the moment of this historic run and fill the stadiums with rows and rows of Palestinian flags, carrying forward the message that Palestine must be free. The players would themselves celebrate with Palestinian flags after their victories.

Morocco met France in the semi-final. France, the holders of the World Cup from 2018, had many blistering performances that swept away the likes of Australia and Denmark and despite losing against Tunisia, finished on top of their group. They continued their run with victories against Poland and England with amazing performances from Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Olvier Giroud.

Morocco’s match against France saw nearly 55,000 Moroccan supporters in a stadium with a 69,000 capacity, largely outnumbering the French fan base. Morocco started the game with the same defensive rigor as they had shown throughout the tournament, but their success would soon be undone as Kylian Mbappe’s shot was rebounded into the goal by Theo Hernandez; France were one goal up by the start of the fifth minute. Morocco almost tied it up with a spectacular overhead bicycle kick from Jawad El Yamiq but it was deterred by an equally fantastic effort from the French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Despite valiant efforts from Morocco and high ball possession statistics, a goal from Eintracht Frankfurt star Randal Kolo Muani made it two goals and led to the defeat of Morocco.

Emotional scenes ensued throughout the stadium as Moroccan fans tearful and left in the shadows, while the French celebrated their victory and qualification into the finals. Despite Morocco's unfortunate loss they were able to defeat teams from countries who had previously colonized them, creating hope for other African countries to follow in their footsteps.

On the other side of the coin was Argentina. Argentina entered the competition on the back of 35 straight victories including the two remarkable wins in 2022, the first against Brazil where they won the  Copa America trophy and the second against Italy in the CONMEBOL-UEFA Cup of Champions final. However, their excellent run was marred by Saudi Arabia who pulled off a historic win against them in what some have called the greatest upset in World Cup history. Despite the unfavorable start, Argentina managed to defeat Mexico and Poland in back-to-back games with the same score of 2-0. In the round of 16 Argentina managed to dispatch with Australia, winning comfortably 2-1, qualifying for the quarter finals.

Argentina faced stiff competition against the Netherlands though, dominating throughout the game with two goals, the first from Nahuel Molina who received a deftly ball from Lionel Messi who appeared seemingly out of the shadows, and the second from Messi himself via penalty kick. However, two swift headed goals from Wout Weghorst saw Argentina lose their lead in the final minute of the game which then went into extra time. Argentina nearly sent the Dutch packing with three brilliant efforts on goal. The game was settled via penalties; Emi Martinez, the Argentinian goalkeeper, made brilliant saves to stop the Dutch efforts and Lautaro Martinez sent Argentina into the semifinals.

The largest contingent of fans currently in Qatar outside of Arabic countries and Brazil is Argentina. This includes non-Argentinian nationality supporters from South Asia including Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, many of whom grew up watching Argentina from the time of their first and second World Cup victory in 1978 and 1986, during the heyday of Diego Armando Maradona. Maradona, whose untimely demise came last year, was, besides being arguably the greatest soccer player of all time, a supporter of several socialist projects across the world and was a close friend of Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales. He was also a great supporter of the Palestinian people as he once proudly declared, “In my heart, I am Palestinian.” Argentina carried forward this message by refusing to play Israel in a friendly match which was to take place in 2018.

Argentina met Croatia in the semifinal. Croatia was the runner up in the previous World Cup in 2018 and had until the semifinal a very resolute run. They managed to finish second in their group behind Morocco, winning one game against Canada and tying the other two against Morocco and Belgium. In the round of 16 they defeated Japan; Dominik Livaković was the hero of the day as he managed to stop three penalty shots from the Japanese. The Croatians continued with their defensive fortitude against Brazil, who throughout the start of the tournament were favorites to win the whole competition. The game went into extra time as Neymar Jr. was able to break the deadlock, but a deflected shot from Bruno Petkovic sent the game into penalties. Croatia was able to continue their performance in the penalty shootout and pushed Brazil out of the contest.

Argentina in no uncertain terms demolished Croatia on December 13. It started with a penalty under slight fortuitous conditions for Messi, followed by a fantastic run and finish by Julian Alvarez, and finally ended with Messi running, turning, dropping his shoulder against Joško Gvardiol, the best defender of the tournament, and laying the ball on a plate for Julian Alvarez to finish the game, 3-0 to Argentina, sending the thousands of Argentinian supporters into raptures, basking in the sunshine of victory.

Argentina faces France in the finals December 18. The final is painted in narratives. Messi, the forever understudy to Dios Maradona, finally receiving a second chance to claim the title of the best in the world after Argentina's loss to Germany in 2014. Kylian Mbappe, at the age of 23 will have a chance to seal consecutive victories for France in back-to-back World Cups, a feat unheard of since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Whatever the individual narratives, both countries have an opportunity to add a third star to their jersey, a third star that will represent a third World Cup victory, carrying forward the collective hopes of two countries.

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It remains to be seen if fans currently flirting with the ‘beautiful game’ will continue their enthusiasm now that the U.S. is knocked out. Americans fell in love with Mia Hamm and the U.S. team during the 1999 Women’s World Cup held in the United States. This team helped to continue to build the popularity of the sport, but many lost interest after memories of the trophy being raised faded.

No matter what, it is fun to see the confusion in the conservative camp. They can’t decide whether to be the strongest supporters of U.S. soccer or denounce a sport that Americans can’t dominate at this time. Maybe we should invade Brazil to force their futbolers to play for the good old USA.

The politics of the World Cup have perplexed some socialists and progressives as well. My buddy, Alfredo, said he would meet me at the Globe tavern to watch our beloved Democratic People’s Republic of Korea take on Portugal. It sounded like a great idea at the time, but as I was driving to the pub to catch the 6:30 a.m. kick off, I was having second thoughts. The coffee at the tavern helped. As the DPRK was taking a drubbing, we started to debate the question of who to root for in the next U.S. match.

Should we root for the U.S. against poorer countries like Algeria or Slovenia? When an imperialist power like the U.S. uses its military or economic strength to oppress the people of other countries we root against them. Why not in soccer?

Alfredo worked against U.S. intervention in Colombia. He was an outspoken opponent of Plan Colombia and U.S. domination of the region. “How can I root for the USA after that?” he complained.

The answer is simple: The U.S. players are not the imperialists. I reminded Alfredo how we rooted for U.S. players Carlos Bocanegra and his teammate Damarcus Beasley when they played for the Chicago Fire. Most of the team and fans come from working class backgrounds. In fact soccer players and fans in the U.S. tend to appreciate other cultures and peoples.

So as soccer fans around the world have their pride, it is only right that we do the same here. There are many reasons for Americans to be proud. Consider that our music, dance, movies and yes athletics are among the best in the world. The skill and ingenuity of all classes but especially the working class make this possible. It is OK to be proud, root for our guys!

Alfredo still wasn’t totally convinced, “Well, I won’t root against them,” he said as he slurped down the last of his coffee and headed to work.

A few days later we met for the match between the U.S. and Algeria. Despite solid chances from the U.S., the Algerian defense held the game goalless headed into stoppage time. A draw looked inevitable when Landon Donovan put the ball in the back of the net. The tavern erupted! Cheers, hugs and high-fives. The U.S. would advance out of the group stage and to the round of 16. As I looked next to me I noticed Alfredo jumping up and down cheering for the Donovan goal.

I am not sure who Alfredo supported Saturday when Ghana eliminated the U.S. from the World Cup. It was a close game , in which Ghana needed extra time to defeat the U.S. 2-1. Now that the U.S. has been eliminated, I can admit that it is great that an African country like Ghana advanced to the quarter finals in the first World Cup to be held in Africa. The same way Africans feel pride for Ghana, I am proud of the American athletes, what they accomplished and what they stood for in South Africa.

The rest of the competition promises to be exciting. Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and the Argentines, like several South American countries, have surprised the pundits. This at the expense of European powers like England, Italy and France, which have been sent home before the quarter finals. The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korean and the U.S. are gone. But for Alfredo and I there is much soccer to watch, beer to drink and yes politics, always politics.

Foster Richards can be reached at: leftsportsrev@yahoo.com

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I walked into the tavern. At first I seemed to be in Green Bay on an autumn Sunday. Everyone was wearing green and gold. But it wasn’t the Packers they were there to see, but Brazil. The most glorious most skilled players in world seem to come from Brazil. If your country’s soccer team is ‘no good’ or you want to adopt a new country for any reason, Brazil is the overwhelming choice.

Like a Chicago Bear fan in northern Wisconsin, I joined the hundreds wearing green and gold, but to root for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The DPRK were heavy underdogs. However, by using a strategy that focused on defense, they were able to prevent the Brazilians from scoring until well into the second half.

The Brazilian players’ footwork was dazzling, yet there were no goals until the 54th minute when Maicon curved the ball around the post just outside the Korean goalkeeper’s reach. It was a phenomenal goal. The fans in the tavern went crazy. Even we few DPRK fans couldn’t help but clap. Suspense… suspense…Goal! Celebration! You got to love it.

Soccer is primarily a working class sport in most places around the world. It inspires passion like no other sport. Soccer has speed, strength, but most especially grace and balance. Brazil’s Pele correctly called it, “the beautiful game.”

The World Cup takes this game and puts it on an international stage once every four years. For Americans, think of having the Super Bowl only once every four years. That means four years of buildup. Think of not just the United States, but teams in every city in the world. Then each country takes its very best players to make up a national team. That is the World Cup.

The political discussions at the pubs around the world are fabulous. Workers discuss South American powers like Brazil and Argentina beating imperialist countries from Europe. The controversial Argentine coach Diego Maradoni regularly speaks out on behalf of the poor and the working class. He praises Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.

The business pages of the bourgeois newspapers blame the European countries they have labeled PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) for the world’s current economic problems. All of these countries have qualified and are predicted to do well at the world cup in South Africa.

Here in the USA, immigrants gather to root for their country of origin and debate the quality of the USA team. The USA was a joke until recently. Since the 1994 World Cup was held here in the United States more and more resources have gone into soccer development. Today, American youth participate in soccer more than any other sport.

Finally, hats off to the hosts, the people of South Africa. They root for their team, the Bafana Bafana with pride, enthusiasm and of course, joy. They cannot stop blowing their vuvuzela horns. At first this annoys the hell out of you, but then it grows on you. It wouldn’t be South African without them.

And then there is the politics of South Africa…the struggle to bring down the racist system of Apartheid, a system supported by U.S. and European imperialism. People of conscience around the world stood with the oppressed people of South Africa to end apartheid. How is South Africa doing today? Why?

It is halftime. Time for a beer. Time to talk to the other workers in the tavern about the world situation, working class solidarity and…oh yeah…wasn’t that a great goal by Ji Yun Nam (DPRK)? Of course communists love the World Cup. What’s not to love?

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