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The year 1997 saw many changes in the world. Bill Clinton was sworn in for a second term, the Teletubbies debuted in England and NASA landed its first space probe on Mars. 

The year was big in the soccer world too.

Here are 10 amazing things that happened in soccer in 1997. 

The United States women's national team has a relatively short history dating back to just 1986. Over the following three decades, the Americans had a tremendous amount of success, dominating opponents and picking up over 25 total championships. Arranged in a 4-3-3 for this best XI, here are the best eleven ladies (and one super sub for good measure) to ever dawn the red, white and blue. 

The Gold Cup doesn’t exactly excite quite like the Euros, Copa America or even the Confederations Cup. There are really only three, maybe four, quality teams and the chances of getting CONCACAF’d are higher than ever.

Even though odds are stacked in favor of Mexico or the United States winning in the end, there are reasons to watch the other 10 countries competing over the month of July.  

These clubs have traditionally participated in the UEFA Champions League for many years. However, they won’t participate in the upcoming season. Who are they?

Soccer has fans in all the nations of the world, with countries as small as San Marino (population 33,000) and as big as China (1.38 billion) fighting for the World Cup trophy. 

Regardless of size, some countries, like Uruguay, are far more successful than others, say, Indonesia.

But what sets the following nations apart isn’t their success or failure, it’s their fans' relationship with the latter.

A few of these players have twirls and twinkles toes and others . . . well . . . might have two left feet. We're looking at you, Ozil.

These routines are high risk, high reward. You might get yelled at by your team, the other team or your coach. You might get a booking. They could just flat out not work and you look absolutely ridiculous. Alternate reality: you’re a mastermind and an innovator whose creative genius finessed the win for your team, on-lookers are in awe as they bear witness to the unexpected and its impeccable execution, the play lands on Sportscenter Top 10!

Here are a few routines to start practicing on the training ground.

The Confederations Cup will play its eighth final on Sunday, July 2.

For the first time since 2003, Brazil will not be in said final.

The Brazilians have dominated this tournament, winning four of the seven editions and reaching the final another time. Only France (twice) has been to more than one final, winning in 2001 and 2003. 

While the Confederations Cup can occasionally create some less-than-stellar matches in the group stage, the finals have been entertaining at the very least. 

The United States has appeared in 10 FIFA World Cups, including the last seven straight. Out of those 10 appearances, they've fallen at the first hurdle on five occasions. The most notable exceptions include the first-ever World Cup in 1930 when the side finished third in the 13-team tournament and their run to the 2002 quarterfinals in Japan and South Korea.