A truly global game

I am Dhaka for work and so missed the US v Spain game in South Africa, shown live locally at 1:00 AM. I had planned to watch it but got the time difference from South Africa wrong and woke up after the game had finished!

What a fabulous result and arguably the most impressive in the US national men's team history. I personally think it is bigger than that 1-0 win against England in Brazil in 1950 but I am biased.

As some great pictures from a UNHCR web site show, soccer, or football as it is called locally, is played in Bangladesh. The picture shown top left is courtesy of New Age sports in Dhaka, you have to scroll half way down the link page to see the coverage of Woman's national league after all the cricket news! You will see children kicking a ball around on any open land although sadly there is not a lot of that in this overcrowded city.

Now I have my game time right I will wake up to watch the final against Brazil on Sunday. Just check on how global that statement is. An Englishman in Bangladesh will watch, courtesy of an Indian TV channel, a live game from South Africa between the USA and Brazil.

Where ever I travel or have lived in the World, there has always been one language I could speak locally that people would understand, it's name changes - futbol, football, calcio, soccer- and it definitely played differently, but once the whistle blows its the same game planet wide.

Given how Brazil struggled against a very determined and tenacious South Africa, I think it will be very close and the USA has a real chance to lift its first international trophy.