The United States men’s national soccer team was unceremoniously eliminated from the 2018 World Cup on Tuesday, but television host Fox Sports isn’t sweating it — or so they claim.
“Last night’s World Cup qualifying results do not change Fox Sports’ passion for the world’s biggest sporting event,” the network said in a statement on Wednesday. “While the U.S. was eliminated, the biggest stars in the world from Lionel Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo stamped their tickets to Russia on the same day, and will battle teams ranging from Mexico to England that have massive fan bases in America.”
The FS1-owner continued: “The World Cup is the greatest sporting event on earth that changes the world for one month every four years, and Fox Sports remains steadfast in our commitment of bringing the games to America for the first time in 2018 and will continue to support the U.S. Soccer Federation as they look ahead to the 2022 World Cup.”
We’ll see how Fox Sports feels about all of this when the pricey tournament’s domestic Nielsen numbers come in from the international pitch. The 2018 FIFA World Cup is being held in Russia from June 14 to July 15.
America’s men’s squad was shut out of international soccer’s biggest event by a 2-1 loss Tuesday night to Trinidad & Tobago. The match was revenge of a sort for the island nation, which was infamously eliminated from the 1990 World Cup in November 1989 thanks to a defeat by the United States. That victory brought an end to a 36-year drought for the U.S. — America had last qualified for the 1940 World Cup.
Next year will mark the first time since 1986 our men’s national team won’t make the dance. Great timing for the folks who out-bid others for its TV rights.