England Makes History At Estadio Azteca In Mexico City

What You're Missing at the World Cup

Whether you are or are not a fan of soccer, each World Cup has its own incredibly unique story. Every four years, each country in the world has the ability to qualify for the most treasured trophy in soccer (futbol), the FIFA World Cup. While the sport is the most popular in the world, Americans have still been slow to jump on the bandwagon. We have our beloved NFL after all. What the World Cup has that the NFL never will is International passion for sport and country. I've watched grown men in kilts cry during this tournament; German visitors were flabbergasted by the beauty of our country; Ranch has been inadvertently deemed the best condiment in the world. An international contest on this scale doesn't happen in any other sport, so just in case you missed it while you were lighting fireworks and eating hot dogs all weekend, here are some of the history and highlights from the World Cup this past weekend.

History and Highlights from the World Cup Holiday Weekend

As the host continent for this year's tournament, games were held in Canada, the United States of America, and Mexico. Of the three, no one made it out of the round of 16. This is because the United States men's team didn't show up for their game against Belgium, although Belgium played well. England made history over the weekend, becoming only the third team to win on Mexico's home turf in Mexico City, and the first to do it in over 13 years. The stadium known as Estadio Azteca is the Mexican soccer fan's holy grail, and has proven difficult for visiting teams to find success, primarily because of the altitude. The stadium sits 7,352 feet above sea level, which is 2,072 feet higher than Denver, for contrast. On Sunday night, England said you can take your altitude somewhere else, as they also made history by scoring over three goals against the Mexican team. The other great shock of the weekend came at the hands of the Norwegians and their Viking row. The rookie team defeated the five-time champion Brazil over the weekend and will make their first appearance in the round of eight.