American fans give up Thanksgiving to travel to World Cup
By RONALD BLUM
AP Sports Writer
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Moving the World Cup from its usual June/July slot to November/December likely caused some American fans to skip the trip to Qatar. Some didn’t want to miss Thanksgiving. Others used to making summer vacation a soccer trip were unable to make the trek because school is in session. The U.S. Soccer Federation said it sold about 3,300 tickets for the Americans’ opener against Wales on Monday. FIFA said more than 200,000 tickets were purchased by U.S. residents for the 2014 tournament in Brazil and 97,000 tickets for 2018 in Russia, which the Americans failed to qualify for.