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Who would win the CSU World Cup?The biggest sporting event on the planet kicks off Thursday when Russia hosts Saudi Arabia for the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Thirty-two nations will chase the most coveted trophy in soccer as they aim...
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Who would win the CSU World Cup?

The biggest sporting event on the planet kicks off Thursday when Russia hosts Saudi Arabia for the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Thirty-two nations will chase the most coveted trophy in soccer as they aim to dethrone defending champs Germany over the next four weeks.

With excitement building across the globe, it got us thinking about our thousands of international students and alumni. We were wondering: Who would win the World Cup if the games were decided by number of CSU alums from each country?

Normally, the United States would run away with the trophy under these conditions. But since the U.S. sadly did not qualify, this thought experiment became a little more competitive.

Cleveland State’s largest international alumni population is in India. (Check out this video highlighting the Indian student experience at CSU.) Unfortunately, India has never participated in the World Cup. The country qualified for the 1950 tournament but withdrew due to the expenses associated with traveling to Brazil. We are definitely rooting for the Blue Tigers to make it one day!

With the U.S. and India out of contention, China would be next in line to claim the CSU World Cup. However, while the Chinese women’s national team is among the best in the world, the Chinese men only once qualified for the World Cup back in 2002.

That means the 2018 CSU World Cup goes to the country with the fourth highest alumni population – Saudi Arabia!

Here’s how the CSU World Cup bracket would play out:

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More than 600 Cleveland State alums hail from Saudi Arabia. (Check out this video on the Arab student experience at CSU.) We imagine many of them will be glued to their televisions Thursday as The Green Falcons face Russia in the opening match. This will be the fifth World Cup appearance for Saudi Arabia and the country is one of the big underdogs. We’ll see how far our alumni’s Viking spirit can take their team.

Speaking of the Viking spirit, if you are still looking for a team to cheer on, why not another underdog – Iceland? The country was settled by Vikings, its population (350,000) is similar to Cleveland’s, it is the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup, and the team has an awesome celebration called the “Viking Chant.”


Which country are you supporting in the 2018 FIFA World Cup? Send your fan photos to socialmedia@csuohio.edu and we will share them on social!