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Earlier this morning, the draw was held to determine the groups for the 2018 World Cup. Obviously the United States won't be participating , so instead of focusing on how they would have done, let's take a look at the tournament as a whole.  --- Group stage --- The lack of a true group of death means Cinderellas will be less likely and big time, big money favorites will go deep, ensuring FIFA's pockets get deeper. Group A: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay I dunno if we’re talking Human Rights Group A is the Group of Death tbqh — Ryan Keefer (@reefa_k) December 1, 2017 Somehow not even a top-three contender for the most controversial host of this millenium, the Russians drew a fairly easy group to contend with. I'm sure that sits well with Russian football authorities who will be hoping the national team can advance to the knockout stage for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union.  Arguably the strongest contender in the group is...

Organized soccer in the United States is broken down into various levels. The lone league to be given Division I status by the U.S. Soccer Federation is Major League Soccer, with their billions of dollars and questionably-allocated Clint Dempseys and whatnot. Although the USSF only sanctions divisions I through III, more leagues are considered an unofficial part of the system. As such, the organizational structure looks something like this: It's a pyramid It should be noted that there is no “break” between levels two and four. Although Division III looks as empty as the 19th floor at Wayside School, two proposed leagues will be filling that void starting in 2018. Meanwhile in England, the Premier League represents the upper echelon of club competition. The English Football League operates the three leagues below that, while the Football Association operates down through level 11. Other leagues operate on unofficial tiers below level 11, all the way down to the M...