By Millie George, StaffWriter
With the first ball being kicked off of the world cup on June 12 in the Mexico v. South Africa game, River Hill students are getting hyped for the series of upcoming matches.
Many students are wearing merch that represents the team that they are cheering for, but for some, they are wearing the merch of their home country. The World Cup truly allows for people to show their descent.
Junior Fedor Konig is rooting for his home country of Germany in the World Cup. Konig is currently taking a foreign exchange year in the United States, but he will return to his home town of Munich, Germany in late June. “It is fun to represent my home country to all of my friends in America,” exclaimed Konig.
Konig expressed his love for soccer, and how it is a large part of his life back home. Although he chose to play American football for his exchange year to gain a new experience, he still has a great love for soccer. “Watching the World Cup here in America makes me feel a little more at home,” said Konig.
Similar to Konig, Junior Andrew Sotomey is a huge supporter of the Ghana teamin the tournament. Sotomey is not only a huge soccer fan, but he is also a big supporter of Ghana as his family is from there. Sotomey said “getting to watch my country play in my favorite sport is very exciting.”
Sotomey follows soccer year-round, and hopes that Ghana will play well in their upcoming games. In 2022, Ghana lost to Qatar in the group stage of the World Cup, but Sotomey expressed that “they have a new team, and will hopefully go further this time.”
Although soccer occurs year-round in all different parts of the world, the World Cup is a culminating event that allows for everyone to be involved. Sophomore Fiona Devine expressed that even though she is not a huge soccer fan, she still enjoys cheering for her country. “I thought it was exciting to watch the USA v. Paraguay game on Friday, I am hoping that USA goes all the way,” said Devine.
While many chose to just cheer for the USA team, other soccer fans follow the best teams. For Junior Leyla Tarhan, she is cheering for France as they have a strong chance of winning it all. “I follow the soccer teams here and there, so I am betting on France coming out with a win this year,” said Tarhan.
In addition, Tarhan describes that she lives in a house divided when it comes to the World Cup. Tarhan highlights “my dad is cheering for Spain, which is also a country that has a lot of potential to win.” The tensions are high in the Tarhan house, and this is the case for many groups of friends and other families.
Many other students, including Junior Kayla Simo, expressed that she just enjoys watching the games. “Although I am not the biggest soccer fan, I love to just keep up with scores, I think it is fun to talk about with my friends and family,” said Simo.
Whether students are repping their teams merch or just enjoying the hype, the World Cup is a big deal for River Hill students. It is more than just a soccer tournament, the World Cup brings the student body together to cheer for their chosen teams.