Better lucky than good? USMNT may have found perfect World Cup formula

Is it better to be lucky than good?

We’re not saying the United States team isn’t good, but in addition to soccer skills, it has definitely been lucky in this World Cup when it comes to location, weather and travel demands.

First game: indoors at SoFi Stadium. Second game: the lovely sea breezes of Seattle. Third game: back indoors at SoFi. Group play included one round-trip flight and two round-trip bus rides from their base in Orange County. 

And for their round of 32 knockout game, a quick trip up the coast to the balmy Bay Area.

The temperature at Levi’s on Wednesday was 77 degrees. Sure, on the blacktop of the vast parking lot where thousands waited before the gates opened it was more like 100 degrees. And, once inside, fans wisely avoided the dreaded surface-of-the-sun seats on the stadium’s south-east side, instead congregating in the shade of the concourses (where they could not only stay cool but also watch the dramatic Senegal-Belgium game, which for some reason Levi’s didn’t show on the big screen). 

But with a fog bank to the north bringing in breezes, the temperature at game time was expected to be comfortable and continuing to drop. 

Compare that to the sweltering 90-degree heat France faced in New Jersey. The thunderstorms that delayed Mexico’s game in New Jersey. The suffocating temperatures that are predicted in coming days in Miami, Kansas City and Philadelphia. And though some indoor stadiums in places like Atlanta and Houston have made games comfortable, the wait to get inside or the fan zones outside have been miserable. 

By winning its group, the U.S. managed to stay exclusively on the West Coast. The team that has just three Californians (as opposed to that 1994 team that was stocked with Californians) has discovered the beauty and comfort of the Golden State. 

Of course it’s not just luck. U.S. Soccer wanted to minimize travel and lobbied FIFA hard to accommodate that. The Americans have had the easiest travel of any team, but also the best climatic conditions. 

Lucky? Good? It’s best to be comfortable.