Soccer is a very hard team sport. It requires endurance and speed. In the 1998 World Cup in France, only 32 teams make it to the first round of play, and in 1994 the US made it into the second round.

Tournaments

Many tournaments take place every year in the US. My AYSO, American Youth Soccer Organazation, team, Argentina Blue, made it into the playoffs, but lost it in the first round of the tournament. A big tournament is coming up in 1998, The World Cup of Soccer. It will take place in France and will have 32 teams. The teams are:

Group A

• Brazil
• Morocco
• Norway
• Scotland

Group B

• Austria
• Cameroon
• Chile
• Italy

Group C

• Denmark
• France
• Saudi Arabia
• South Africa

Group D

• Bulgaria
• Nigeria
• Paraguay
• Spain

Group E

• Belgium
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• South Korea

Group F

• Germany
• Iran
• United States
• Yugoslavia

Group G

• Colombia
• England
• Romania
• Tunisia

Group H

• Argentina
• Croatia
• Jamaica
• Japan

After the first round is over, the top 2 teams in each group will go into these playoff brakets: