BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — With the Women's World Cup well underway, JUMP is readying for its second World Cup Watch Party.
The non-profit community gathering space in downtown Boise held a watch party for USWNT player and Boise native Sofia Huerta, as she made her World Cup debut in the U.S.' opening game against Vietnam Friday, July 21.
At the party, hundreds showed up, much to the delight of JUMP's community engagement director, Kathy O'Neill.
"It was packed," O'Neill said. "I guess we had around 350 people or so... but it was a wonderful, vibrant evening. It was fun watching the entire community coming together to celebrate and connect through Sofia's success."
Huerta came on in the 84th minute against Vietnam, subbing on to become the first player in Idaho history to play at a World Cup for the USA, for both men's and women's teams (María Sánchez from Nampa played in the 2015 World Cup for Mexico).
"Everybody was cheering," O'Neill said. "Everybody was rooting for Sofia. What an inspiration. When you play soccer in the Treasure Valley, most people don't believe you can get much further than college; to go into the pros and then to end up on the World Cup (roster) at 30 years old, most would've said impossible but she proved everybody wrong. Anything is possible if you dream, if you believe it's possible and then have that tenacity and hard-work ethic along the way."
Given the strong turnout Friday, O'Neill is expecting larger crowds for Wednesday's matchup. The game, against the Netherlands, is a rematch of the 2019 World Cup Final which the U.S. won 2-0, to claim back-to-back World Cups.
"I think it's going to be probably a little bit more competitive than it was," O'Neill said. "But that's always fun. Hopefully Sophia has a little bit more playtime, (it) would be really fun. It was fun watching the community stand up and start cheering when she did make the field on Friday, but I think it will be competitive, but that's not a bad thing"
O'Neill went on to talk about Huerta's impact on the community, especially youth playing soccer right now in the valley.
"I think it means everything," O'Neill said. "As JUMP is a place to inspire human potential, there's nobody right now more inspirational in the Treasure Valley that I can think of than Sofia Huerta, to all the young players, girls and boys, and even adults that are trying something for the first time."
This is the largest Women's World Cup in the tournament's history. After starting with 12 teams for the original 1991 World cup, the tournament has gradually expanded every few editions. This time, the World Cup is made of 32 teams slotted into 8 groups of 4, the best two from each group qualifying for the last 16.
After one game played, the U.S. has 3 points and a +3 goal difference, putting them just atop the Netherlands (3 points, +1 goal difference). A win tonight, would not automatically mean qualification for the U.S., but it would heavily boost the Americans chances of making it out of the group.
Wednesday's matchup against the Netherlands begins at 7 p.m. (Thursday 1 p.m. in Wellington, New Zealand).
There is some seating available on-site but JUMP encourages you to bring outdoor chairs and blankets due a high expected turnout.
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