Bay Area World Cup preview: Cheap tickets, underdogs and big USA match potential
The World Cup is kicking off in Northern California on Saturday, when Qatar and Switzerland take the field at Levi’s Stadium in the first of six games played at the San Francisco 49ers’ home field.
Interest in the region appears to be modest, at best, given the lack of a traditional soccer power coming to the Bay Area, though Levi’s could host one of the biggest games in the tournament should the U.S. Men’s National Team win Group D — it’s the betting favorite out of Paraguay, Australia and Turkey — and play the new Round of 32 game there July 1.
Tickets for the five group stage games have been affordable — similar to an NBA or NFL game — compared to the rest of the country, where high ticket prices have been a significant storyline heading into the World Cup. That’s likely because the top-ranked team coming to Santa Clara is FIFA No. 19-ranked Switzerland, which doesn’t bring the cachet or star power of favorites like Spain, France, Argentina, England, Brazil or Portugal.
Most of the teams playing in Santa Clara are coming into the World Cup with underdog mentalities, with a few countries playing in the world’s biggest tournament after extended absences.
Most of the teams playing in the Bay Area are doing so because of the new expanded field. Overall, this will be the biggest World Cup in history. It grew from 32 to 48 teams and will feature 104 matches in 16 venues spread between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, which are splitting host duties.
The Round of 32 is a new stage, meaning the champion will have to play eight matches instead of the traditional seven.
Here is a quick look at the six matches being played in Santa Clara. (All times listed are Pacific.)
Game 1: Qatar vs. Switzerland
Group B
Noon Saturday, June 13
This is the first World Cup in which Qatar has qualified, with its only other appearance coming with an automatic bid as the host nation in 2022. They’re coming into the World Cup as FIFA’s No. 57-ranked outfit.
Switzerland has reached the quarterfinals in its last three World Cups and has similar expectations as an under-the-radar contender this summer. They have a history of good showings on the world stage and are expected to reach the knockout rounds again.
Game 2: Austria vs. Jordan
Group J
9 p.m. Tuesday, June 16
The late start is presumably to maximize the television audience for the European and Middle Eastern Countries, where kickoff locally will be at 6 a.m. in Austria and 7 a.m. in Jordan.
Austria is appearing in its first World Cup since 1998 and enters the tournament in good form having won six of its eight qualifying matches. They’re FIFA’s No. 24-ranked team and their manager, German national Ralf Rangnick, has a strong pedigree as a developer both as manager and sporting director, which has Austria hopeful it can reach the knockout rounds.
Jordan, ranked No. 63, is appearing in its first ever World Cup, and reached it despite being considerable underdogs in qualifying. Like many of the lower-ranked teams, Jordan’s likely path to the knockout stage could come as one of the eight third-place teams from the group stages that reach the Round of 32.
The third-place teams will be determined by overall points and tiebreakers such as goal difference, goals scored, team conduct score and FIFA rankings. In the previous 32-team format, only the top two teams from each group advanced.
Game 3: Turkey vs. Paraguay
Group D
8 p.m. Friday, June 19
Turkey is back in the World Cup for the first time since 2002, when they made an impressive run to a third-place finish in South Korea and Japan, beating South Korea 3-2 in the bronze medal game.
Turkey could be the biggest threat to the U.S. in Group D and take their spot in Levi’s Stadium in the Round of 32 game should they emerge from the group. They’re FIFA’s No. 22 ranked team.
Game 4: Jordan vs. Algeria
Group J
8 p.m. Monday, June 22
Algeria, ranked No. 28, missed the last two World Cups but is coming in having won eight of their 10 games in qualifying, while forward Mohamed Amoura scored 10 goals, the most of any player in the qualifying region.
Algeria’s best World Cup finish came in 2014 by reaching the Round of 16.
Game 5: Paraguay vs. Australia
Group D
7 p.m. Thursday, June 25
There might not be a better team nickname than the Australian “Socceroos,” who are trying to reach the Round of 16 in consecutive World Cups, which is tied for their best finish the tournament. They lost to the eventual champions, Argentina in 2014. They enter this year’s tournament ranked No. 27.
Australia made their World Cup debut in 1974 but had a 32-year gap in qualifying before making it again in 2006. They’ve been a regular since then, making five straight tournaments.
Paraguay, ranked No. 41, secured the sixth and final automatic qualification in South America with unexpected wins over Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, which should give them confidence as another dangerous club in Group D.
Round of 32
Group D winner vs. third-place finisher from Group B, E, F, I, or J
5 p.m. Wednesday, July 1
There’s never been a Round of 32 like the one coming this summer. And it could be a particularly eventful match should the U.S. team reach expectations and win its group.
But it wouldn’t be a shock to see Turkey, Paraguay or Australia in this spot either, despite the Americans being the highest ranked team in the group at No. 17 in the world.
