The U.S. team meets Belgium on Tuesday for an all-important World Cup match. According to prediction algorithms done by the number-crunchers at FiveThirtyEight, the U.S. has a 42% chance of advancing.
But what should the Americans know about its opponents going in? Here are five tidbits of knowledge to spew during the match -- beyond the chocolate and waffles.
1. They don't have their own language...
...So they have to borrow linguistically from neighboring countries. There are three official languages in Belgium -- Dutch, French and German -- and the freedom to speak any language you want is embedded in the constitution.
2. They're creative.
They have more than 800 kinds of beer, some with decidedly fruity flavors.
They also like their comics; Tintin is Belgian.
So is the artist Hermann who created the graphic novel Jeremiah.
3. It's a fairly young country.
The country was founded in 1830, so it is less than 200 years old -- but its monarchy is flush with royals. Belgium has two kings and three queens.
4. The taxes there are crazy.
Belgium has one of the highest income tax of any country in the world. Whereas Americans pay about 25% in income tax, the Belgians have the OECD’s highest average tax rate at nearly 56%.
5. It's home to the Smurfs.
The Smurfs was first created and introduced by a Belgian comics artist in 1958.
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