Obama greets US soccer team

WASHINTON, Jul 3 (BBC): US President Barak Obama told two members of the U.S. World Cup team that they made the country proud during a phone call Wednesday.
Obama spoke with goalkeeper Tim Howard and team captain Clint Dempsey the day after the U.S. team was eliminated by Belgium.
"You guys did us proud," Obama said in a video released by the White House. "To see the way you guys captured the hearts and the imaginations of the whole country is unbelievable."
The president also invited the team to the White House.
"I know it's disappointing," Obama said about the 2-1 loss to Belgium in extra time. "But what you guys accomplished is really, really significant."
U.S. support for the World Cup team stretched far beyond the Oval Office, and that has gotten the attention of FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke, who told the Brazilian newspaper Globo that the U.S. may soon be in line to host the tournament again.
"What we see in the United States is staggering. The audience is unprecedented, more than the NBA," Valcke said. "The country has the largest level of youth soccer in the world, 20 million young people playing. There is a commitment from FIFA to work with U.S. Soccer and I think after 2022, they have an interest in hosting the 2026 World Cup."
U.S. Soccer President and FIFA executive committee member Sunil Gulati has previously said the U.S. would consider bidding for the 2026 tournament, but only if bidding rules change. The U.S., which staged the most successful World Cup in history in 1994, lost out to Qatar for the 2022 tournament. The voting process in that case is under investigation amid charges of corruption and bribes.