FIFA World Cup (Men's)

Only a united UEFA has the power to bring about change within Sepp Blatter’s FIFA, but it’ll never happen

Part of the majesty of sport resides in its ability to explain life. There can be more truth in one good competition than an entire Sunday church service. Soccer’s function as a microcosm of life is arguably the most direct in all the sports - and perhaps that is why the planet is so enamored with it. 

As first reported by The18 yesterday, in the least surprising news since The Pope admitted to a fondness for Jesus, FIFA’s investigation into alleged corruption and improper conduct during the 2018/2022 World Cup Bidding Process has cleared the successful Qatar 2022 and Russia 2018 bid teams of any wrong-doing.

There is not a country in the world that does not have a dark side to its history. Call it human nature, but the huge strides made by the human race in the past few centuries are rivaled only by its tragic missteps.

We can now sit back and take a breath after the 2014 World Cup gave us over a month of breathtaking goals, rabid Uruguayans, draws that felt like losses, losses that felt like wins, and record-breaking television ratings in the United States. While certain of those memories will stay with us for weeks and even years to come, the question now has to be asked: where does soccer go from here in the United States? Is this truly the time when soccer will “break through” and join its place in the upper-echelon of major sports in the United States?

The United States team provided fans with excitement throughout their World Cup campaign. The excitement built around this year's USMNT World Cup campaign was something that our nation has never seen. While the the success of getting out of the "Group of Death" is still fresh, it is now time to take the next step and expectations will be extremely high for the 2018 team. Here are some players fans should look out for in the 2018 World Cup cycle.