FIFA already has plans to expand the World Cup to 64 teams in 2030. This fait accompli dilution is justified by FIFA as an opportunity for more nations to participate in this great event. But the 2027 women’s World Cup will have only 32 teams. So why isn’t an expanded participation format good for the women’s game?

Qualifiers exist, which allow every nation (except Russia) a chance to make the World Cup. Note that there aren’t mandatory hydration breaks during qualifiers, because no one is watching relatively speaking. This speaks to FIFA’s true motive here, which isn’t player protection.

A 64-team World Cup format would only make sense if it were knockout elimination games from the start– like the NCAA basketball tournaments. A 64-team field with group play only mucks things up more, creating too many uninteresting matches. This tournament took too long to actually get going in 2026, because of the 48-team field. This inevitable move to a 64-team format was decided before this World Cup, and it’s why Fox analysts (& their corporate partners) defended the 48-team expansion so steadfastly. Criticism was curtailed as Fox broadcast policy.

Trump stated to the media yesterday, “This has been a tournament like no other, filled with fierce competition, unforgettable moments. Probably the most unforgettable is when they gave that gentleman — is it a red card? And I was forced to call Gianni and just make a recommendation. I said ‘Gianni, I’d like to make a recommendation. Let the guy in the game!’ No, I didn’t say that. I said, ‘I’d like to wage a complaint.’ I had no idea what was going to happen. But, you know, so much better the way it worked out because there’s no controversy. They won the game and our team had all of its players. [Infantino] made another great decision if you think about it. You’ll never get credit for that.”

For the record, the US lost to Belgium 4-1, in a disasterpiece performance, and there was plenty of controversy over Folarin Balogun’s one-game red card suspension being lifted. Such is the depth of Trump’s delusional ramblings. Neither FIFA nor the USSF has yet explained the discipline of assistant team manager Sam Zapatka & USSF CIA security guy Frank Pannell. ESPN published one brief article on this, which explained nothing, and has apparently moved on.

In 2034, the World Cup is to be held in Saudi Arabia. This means the US is in line to host again in 2038, due to FIFA host-bid rules. Only Oceania/Australia & North America are eligible to host the World Cup in 2038. NFL owners are already lining up their stadiums as 2038 host sites.

It is questionable whether a World Cup will actually be held in 2030, 2034 or 2038. Humanity is now at the outset of another world war, with fronts in Venezuela, Gaza-Lebanon, Iran, and Russia-Ukraine. World War 2 cancelled the World Cup in 1942 & 1946, as defeating the Nazis became a global priority over international sports. We are reaching such a historical inflection point again.

Football brings the people of the world together in joy for the World Cup, but it is not a given right. The World Cup was originally an idea for peace that has been distorted & corrupted by nationalism & international capital to a point where the game on the field matters less than the money & politics driving it. By the time it’s over, fans feel exhausted, not only from the games, but from the politics.

In short, there’s far too much Tom Rinaldi at the World Cup. People who are clueless on the game and who don’t belong in the broadcast booth are given a platform by Fox for their bland mediocrity & bad minds. It’s sad when the semi-finals & finals broadcasts have to be watched with the mute button active to make any sense of what’s happening on the pitch.

As much as I love Rebecca Lowe, Thierry Henry & Zlatan Ibramivich, I’m always forced to be at the ready to mute Alexi Lalas and his diarrhea of the mouth. Fox simply will not allow a serious football broadcast at the World Cup. They always insist on their stooges being present to muck things up. This is because Fox is about the NFL first.

The first American rules football game was Princeton v Rutgers in 1869. It was called football because the ball was carried on foot. Of course, international football had already been around for centuries, but no matter, American rules football was a fringe game at the start.

The forward pass wasn’t codified into the American rules until 1906, the year the NCAA was established.  Michigan v Notre Dame established the NCAA. The NFL didn’t establish until 1920, as college football was more popular in the US through the 1950’s. Long before the NFL Super Bowl-era established mass popularity of the game in America, the World Cup was already a global phenomenon.

American rules football isn’t played with the foot, except for punters & kickers. The modern game is pass dominant, so everything about American rules football is a misnomer today. Yet, NFL fans all insist their name is correct, and that FIFA and the rest of the world have it wrong– and that it’s called soccer.

Soccer v football is much more than an argument over semantics. It goes to the heart of the meaning of words. It represents the idea that wrong-headed thinking can be imposed on a nation as correct by a wealthy & powerful ruling class. It smacks of arrogance & ignorance.

The US men can’t win at the World Cup playing soccer. The world is playing football, and as long as a misnamed American sport takes priority over historical truth and the true meaning of words, the US will continue to crash out of future World Cups. More than anything, that has been my final takeaway from the 2026 World Cup.

Hypothetical situation: I have just invented a new sport and I’m naming it basketball. It’s not the basketball everyone knows– NBA, WNBA, etc– it’s a game played with an oblong ball and woven baskets with completely different rules. I insist the world must refer to it as basketball, otherwise I’ll get upset.

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