WVU head men's soccer coach Marlon LeBlanc will be hosting a watch party at Damon's at Suncrest Center at 2:30 p.m., Saturday for the U.S. opening match against England.
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During the 2006 World Cup, more than 715 million people watched the final between eventual champion Italy and loser France. Also, more than 3.3 million people saw the matches live in Germany.
West Virginia men's head soccer coach Marlon LeBlanc was among those who saw the 2006 World Cup in person. He took in the events just months before being named the Mountaineers' head coach in August.
"It's the biggest event on the planet without a doubt," LeBlanc said. "There is nothing like a World Cup, especially one in Europe."
LeBlanc saw the opening ceremony and the first game. He also watched the first two U.S. games in person, as well.
"It was great, great experience," LeBlanc said.
The Mountaineers' fifth-year head coach said the World Cup does not compare to other sporting events like the Olympics and the Super Bowl.
"Though the Super Bowl has massive appeal and is watched by a lot of people, it really only hits the hearts of two cities, whereas the World Cup is truly watched around the globe," LeBlanc said.
"Most of the Olympics are amateur sports, but the World Cup is soccer stars from around the world representing their country."
As for this year's World Cup held in South Africa, LeBlanc thinks Spain will win it all.
"They play the best football inside right now," LeBlanc said. "The big question mark for them is whether or not they are healthy."
He believes Brazil and Argentina will also be in the thick of things.
Along with picking his favorites, LeBlanc also forecasted what he expects to see from the U.S., starting with its much-hyped opening matchup against England Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN.
"England is loaded top to bottom with some of the biggest soccer stars in the world," LeBlanc said. "Our team is definitely capable of winning that game, because we have players playing around the world in the highest levels of the game.
"The question is whether the U.S. can sustain it for 90
minutes in order to grind out a result."
After their match with England, LeBlanc expects a tough road to the elimination rounds. But he said there is a chance the U.S. could find themselves in a crucial match late in the World Cup.
"They have a difficult task at hand," LeBlanc said. "A lot of people, whenever the group was announced, said ‘if the U.S. doesn't make it out of this group, then it's a failure.' It is more difficult than it seems. If we do get out of this group there is a perfect storm of injuries going on, and then we could find ourselves in a big-time elimination matchup."
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