The World Cup

When it was announced several years ago that the World Cup would be played in Qatar this year, there was a lot of backlash right away.  Some of it had to do with the supposed corruption in the bidding process for them to host the event.  Other complaints revolved around the time of year that the tournament would have to played.  It was too hot in the summer months of the Middle Eastern country, so the soccer championship would occur in November instead of July.  

The controversy did not end when the World Cup started.  There was also an incident during the tournament where a reporter was detained because he wore a Pride shirt to the match.  That news gained even more media attention when the beloved reporter dropped over dead in the middle of one of the semi-finals match.  At first foul play was suspected by the family, but in the end it was an undetected heart condition.  Either way, it was definitely a a tragedy.  

No matter the controversies, the Heinisch family was excited to watch the World Cup again this year.  As an added bonus, the United States would be playing in the tournament and the first round would begin during Thanksgiving break.  That meant that Doug, Cal, Cameron and Nick would all have some free time to watch the round robin games.  

Over the next few weeks, there were soccer games on almost daily.  Some of the matches the guys had to follow while working or at school, others they made time to watch at home.  There were some upsets, like when Germany did not make it to the knock out round.  There were also some very exciting games especially when the United States beat Iran to make to the round of sixteen.

The most exciting game of the entire tournament occurred today during the finals against France and Argentina.  It not only pitted the two top teams against each other, but the best players, Mbappe and Mesi, in World Cup soccer as well.  The game definitely did not disappoint.  Argentina controlled the first 3/4's of the game leading 2-0 going into the 80th minute.  That's when the French player turned it on and scored with ten minutes to go in the game.  Unbelievably, he put another in the back of the net one minute later taking the match to overtime.  The extra sessions were equally exciting with both Messi and Mbappe scoring.  An incredibly goalie save pushed the game to penalty kicks.  Argentina won in the end which the Heinisch family was happy to see.  It was a great way to end an exciting the World Cup.  Everyone is already looking forward to 2026 when the games will be played in North America.