HURRY!! 20 POINTS!!!
the sentence below and answer the question that follows.

The game o͟f͟ ͟s͟o͟c͟c͟e͟r͟ has been played all over the world for centuries, but the game as we know it today was first played in the mid-1800s in England.

How does the underlined phrase function in the sentence?

A.as a verb

B.as a preposition

C.as an adjective

D.as an adverb