Miroslav Klose scored two goals at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil giving him 16 in his World Cup career Klose helped Germany win its fourth title The World Cup is the most-watched sporting event on the planet The 2014 tournament had an in-home television audience of 3.2 billion people More than 1 billion watched the final match alone The FIFA Women’s World Cup has taken place every four years since 1991 In that time the United States has been on top of the women’s soccer world Team USA has won three World Cup titles including the first one in China in 1991 More than 90,000 fans packed the Rose Bowl to watch the United States defeat China in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final Miroslav Klose scores his 16th career World Cup goal in Germany’s semifinal victory over Brazil in 2014 9
2 THE BEAUTIFUL GAME One of the reasons soccer is the world’s most popular sport is its simplicity It comes down to kicking a ball into a goal It is a sport that anyone can play and understand Its roots can be traced back approximately 2,000 years The ancient Chinese people played a game called Tsu Chu They used a ball made of leather stuffed with hair and feathers The goal was only 12 to 15 inches 30 to 38 cm wide and made of bamboo Approximately 500 years later the Japanese played a game called Kemari The object Soccer is a simple game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages 10
