Exploring Planet Futbol

How, exactly, did Iceland become the smallest country to ever qualify for the World Cup? SI Senior Writer Grant Wahl set out to answer that question on a roadtrip through the country.

Germany has become the land of opportunity for the best young American soccer players, and the new episode of Exploring Planet Fútbol on SI TV takes you on a road trip around Deutschland to spend time with the backbone of the U.S. men’s national team.

During the 1996 Olympics, Japan beat a vastly superior Brazil team on a fluke goal in what is now known in Japan as The Miracle in Miami. The win in large part instigated a decades-long process of investing in the game at a national level.

Argentines claim to be the most passionate fans in soccer. That passion is apparent in almost all aspects of life, and while it has yielded a disproportionate number of the geniuses of the men's game, support for the women's game has lagged far behind. Grant Wahl explores all of this in a return to a country that he calls his second home.