Brazil is a huge country. The infrastructure is, from all reports, not prepared to handle an event the magnitude of the World Cup. Coupled with those facts, the U.S. draw is daunting from both logistical and oppositional standpoints.
The U.S. Soccer Federation has decided to base the team in Sao Paulo, with a metro area population of 19 million Brazil's largest city, which also relatively speaking, has the largest, most efficient airport. The shortest flight, for the final Group Stage match in Recife, sees Germany waiting as the third and final opponent the American side must confront to advance into the knockout round. The first match, old WC nemesis Ghana, is a bit further up the east coast, a three-hour flight to Natal, and in between, a five-plus-hour flight to Manaus, in northwest Amazonia, to face Portugal, who most are aware, are led by perhaps the best player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo.
So the stage is set, and in the next few subsequent posts, we will revisit the preliminaries, the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers, that saw the U.S., yet again, win the Hexagonal in advancing to the World Cup.
