U.S. men’s national team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has said himself that his squad cannot win the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Well, it looks like there are some Americans who disagree.
A poll conducted by The New York Times’ “The Upshot” blog found that the U.S. was one of just three nations in which the majority of fans believe their country — not host nation Brazil — will win the World Cup. Spain and Argentina were the others.
A closer look at the numbers, though, reveals that the U.S. majority is far from an overwhelming one.
Just 14 percent of Americans believe the red, white and blue will hoist the trophy in Rio. That’s compared to 47 percent of both Spaniards and Argentinians — not particularly surprising given those countries’ rich soccer histories.
The second question asked of the 19 nations polled also yielded some intriguing results. As it turns out, the U.S. is the most rooted-against team in five countries: Australia, Italy, Mexico, Russia and the U.S. itself. Yes, the American people apparently dislike the USMNT (5.4 percent) the most, slightly more than Russia (5.2 percent).
For a more in-depth look at the full results, click the chart below.
The World Cup gets underway Thursday night in Sao Paulo, with the U.S. beginning its pool-play slate Monday against Ghana.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@MLS
