Question

lopsided scoring was not actually a display of australian soccer dominance; instead, it is the bureaucratic changes creating a severe mismatch that are to blame for this unfortunate result. shortly before the game, fifa, the international soccer association that organizes the world cup, changed eligibility and passport rules. this update disqualified nineteen american samoan players, leaving the goalkeeper as the only remaining player. their coach looked to their under - twenty national team for replacements, but most of those players were occupied with high school exams. that left a small group of amateur players, including three fifteen - year - olds, to play in the match. not only were the new players less experienced, but the american samoan team was also underfunded compared to australias team. these disadvantages contributed to american samoas overwhelming defeat. in the first paragraph, the author argues that bureaucratic changes were solely to blame for the huge score discrepancy. what structural choice does the author make in the second paragraph that undermines this argument? the author praises the remarkable skill of the australian players, implying that they dominated the game primarily because of their superior talent over soccer players from american samoa. the author emphasizes the age of the players on the team from american samoa without providing details about the ages of the players on the australian socceroos team. the author mentions a funding discrepancy between the two teams, indicating that there were multiple factors contributing to the lopsided score. the author disputes the role that fifa officials played in disqualifying most of the american samoan players from participating in the match.

Explanation:

The first - paragraph claims bureaucratic changes are the sole cause of the lopsided score. In the second paragraph, the author mentions a funding discrepancy between the two teams. This shows there are multiple factors (not just bureaucratic changes) contributing to the lopsided score, undermining the first - paragraph's claim.

Answer:

The author mentions a funding discrepancy between the two teams, indicating that there were multiple factors contributing to the lopsided score.