Something strange is happening in the World Cup.
In a tournament in which goals are harder to find than a responsible oil company in the Gulf of Mexico, I’ve seen world superpowers repeatedly trip over missed opportunities and laughable mismatches.
I first noticed when Italy and Paraguay played to a 1-1 draw on June 14. The next day, a completely unknown North Korea side made No. 1-ranked Brazil fight for a 2-1 victory. The day after that, hell froze over, and Switzerland defeated mighty Spain, 1-0.
The upsets haven’t stopped. Germany, England, and Italy have all struggled to find positive results in the group stage, and much has been made of France’s implosion.
To me, this doesn’t suggest the best teams in the world are playing under par (although France certainly has through its first two games). Instead, it seems to me that international soccer has developed a level of parity that is light years ahead of any domestic sports organization.
Take a look at the four major North American sports leagues. The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have combined to win 52 percent of the NBA Finals. The Montréal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Detroit Red Wings have won 51 percent of NHL-era Stanley Cups. The New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland A’s, and Boston Red Sox have won 50 percent of MLB World Series. The Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, and San Francisco 49ers hold 36 percent of the NFL’s Super Bowl titles.
Across the pond, only four of the 44 teams to compete in the Premier League — Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and (inexplicably) Blackburn Rovers — have won the title in the league’s 20 years of existence. Man-U leads with a whopping 11 titles.
Yeah, that’s fair.
I’m not saying that upstart Switzerland will run through everyone and win the World Cup, but hey — it beat No. 2 Spain. Tiny New Zealand, the island nation famous for having more sheep than people, held defending Cup champion Italy to its second consecutive 1-1 draw on June 20.
Teams from Paraguay (population: 6 million, about the size of Rio de Janeiro), Uruguay (3.5 million, Madrid), and Slovenia (2 million, Houston) have all turned in strong results through the first two games of group play and have legitimate chances to advance to the knockout stage.
While I fully expect a team such as Brazil or Italy will eventually be crowned World Cup champion (the two have won the trophy in 47 percent of the 19 tournaments), I also predict a few more shocking results in the weeks to come. Whether we see Greece triumph over Argentina, Slovakia beat Italy, or France actually score a goal, something else is going to happen to blow the collective minds of the soccer world.
The World Cup has a long history of major upsets — my favorite will always be Senegal’s 1-0 win over defending champion France in 2002 — and ESPN has been harping on and on about how “One Game Changes Everything.” The slogan began grinding my gears months before the tournament even started, but it’s true.
In the world of international soccer, anything can — and will — happen.