Preface: This will be a serial piece, reporting on noteworthy events as they happen over the next few weeks through July 19.
The most prestigious international sporting event after the Olympics is the FIFA World Cup. Politics always plays a part in the World Cup, and the money involved is immense. Because of this, the World Cup organically invites & breeds corruption.
For the USMNT, it’s about advancing out of group play and finally winning a match in the knockout round. Note that there is a possibility the US could play Iran in Dallas, if both teams finish second in their groups, so watch for that. Iran has had issues getting visas for support personnel for their national team. Also, ticket allotments to Iranian national team fans have been reduced by FIFA. It must be understood that Donald Trump is closely allied with FIFA president Gianni Infantino for any of what’s going on to make any sense in this World Cup.
The game on the field matters less than ever, and that’s a shame. The USMNT has been handed a comfortable draw with Paraguay, Australia & Turkey in Group D. They didn’t have to qualify being a host nation, and that’s what kept the USMNT out of the World Cup 2018 in Russia. That year, 2018 was probably the lowest point for US men’s soccer since it came onto the international scene after hosting the 1994 World Cup and advancing out of group play for the first time.
The USMNT needs to advance to the round-of-32 and win at least one game for this World Cup to be successful for them. A problem with US men’s soccer is that there isn’t enough pressure on them to perform. No one who knows anything about futbol/football expects this team to do much, and it probably won’t. But the hype is there, that’s for sure.
By contrast, the US women’s national team has won the World Cup 4 times: 1991 (inaugural), 1999, 2015 & 2019. The US men haven’t been able to put any kind of competitive team on the World Cup stage ever, and 2026 represents a crossroads for men’s professional soccer in America. With all the advantages the US enjoys, not the least of which is having US imperialism literally destroy much of the global competition for the USMNT. Colombia, and much of Latin America can’t field a competitive team due to US-led violence unleashed on these impoverished nations. Iran surely has been diminished by US imperialism since Feb 28, 2026. Russia and it’s allies aren’t even allowed to compete, due to cynical US-led sanctions. Rotten politics permeate World Cup 2026.
The tournament has been expanded to 48 teams, from 32. This makes winning in the first knockout round (now a round-of-32, not 16) much easier for the USMNT, and it strangely feels like that was a primary reason for the expansion of the World Cup field. Anyway, more nations than ever are in the World Cup, but there has perhaps never been a greater disparity between the true contenders and the pretenders who are mostly just happy to be there.
Of course, every team wants to win, but the difference in quality between the world class teams and the rest will typically be made clear by the round-of-16. The US play Paraguay in its opener, just an hour away as of this publication. The US is playing in Los Angeles and should win easily, as they are better and have every advantage. The problem is, this is when the USMNT has historically spit the bit and laid an egg. Those are the storylines going in. It’s now time to let the players & teams decide the matter, as much as they are allowed. More on all this when the game is over.
Fri 12 Jun 2026 10:10 PM CDT
Mandatory hydration breaks by FIFA this World Cup have turned these games from two halves into four quarters, more resembling American sports. It’s an acknowledgement of global warming, and the need for player safety especially after Qatar 2022, Brazil 2014 & South Africa 2010 where world class athletes were being broken by the heat. I believe it helps the USMNT to play with this rule. Of course, the real purpose of this FIFA rule is to insert another round of commercials during each half, similar to when NASCAR went to stage racing a decade ago.
Coincidentally, a US player finally scored after the first hydration break in its opening match against Paraguay on their way to a 3-0 lead at halftime. Not much of a match, with Paraguay unable to clear the ball out their zone, repeatedly turning the ball over, giving the US multiple resets in the box, barely mounting a serious attack of their own, while tallying an own goal in the process. Hardly a game, and an illustrative example of how far away from competing these small & impoverished nations are in the World Cup.
The US has definitely improved from its disastrous setbacks of the 2010’s, where they completely lost their direction. The USMNT made the quarterfinals in Japan 2002, which is their best result ever in a World Cup, but have flopped since. The USMNT is definitely better organized, and there is finally some real talent on the team that can put the ball in the net, but I’m not convinced they can hold up against serious competition, which they probably won’t face until the round-of-16 at the earliest. Therefore I don’t get too excited over the USMNT dismantling Paraguay 4-1. The result virtually ensures the US will go on to the knockout stage, especially with their goal differential, so it’s a nice start but not much of a test.
The inaugural World Cup was in 1930, with 1942 & 1946 cancelled due to World War II. Brazil (5) has won it the most, with Germany & Italy (4 apiece), Argentina (3), and France & Uruguay (2 apiece) as the only multiple World Cup winners. England (1966) & Spain (2010) also won it. That’s the list. France is considered the favorite in 2026. Spain, England, Brazil & Argentina (2022 winner) all have strong teams and can win it. Beyond that there is a tier of 4-6 teams that can be dangerous. The USMNT isn’t considered to be on that list.
Early impressions: With FIFA expanding the field to 48 teams, the World Cup has been severely diluted, and the ramifications should be understood. Normally in the traditional 32-team World Cup field, there are 3-4 teams that have a poor showings and don’t win or draw a game in group play. They have a hard time even scoring a goal, and are sent home early in ignominy.
This time there will be ~20 teams that really don’t belong in the World Cup– ~40% of the field. Increasing the field by 50% only dilutes the quality of play, as FIFA has allowed too many third-rate national teams into World Cup 2026. Qualifying has traditionally been the method of ensuring only the best make this tournament. Now it’s a much lower bar to qualify, which doesn’t help the game.
This aggressive expansion will lead to many tedious games that will be sparsely attended & hardly watched. High ticket prices aren’t helping either. On average, ticket prices for World Cup 2026 are 5x higher than Qatar 2022. Who in America is interested in the Ivory Coast v Curacao match? Saudi Arabia v Uruguay, etc? Who will win Brazil v Haiti? Mismatches, along with boring match-ups are the story of group play in World Cup 2026. It was all done so FIFA could extract more money from fans & sponsors.
There are now 12 groups instead of 8, with some having 2-3 teams/group that aren’t internationally competitive. See Groups E, G, H & J, and decide for yourself. These ‘also-rans’ will win a few games, because they are playing opponents (40% of the field) who are at their level, but they aren’t World Cup teams in any traditional sense. The ‘group of death’ moniker no longer applies, as all the best teams are alone at top of their groups with a bunch of cupcakes below them.
Travel restrictions have also become an issue, as many foreign fans have decided to not attend the World Cup in North America for these reasons discussed above. Being detained by ICE is a very real risk, and who wants to pay inflated prices for inferior competition, while exposing yourself to the danger of being detained by the American gestapo?
The vastness of North America is also an issue, as the distance between the stadium venues is hundreds, if not thousands of miles. That’s too much travel, in an era of high gas prices along with the soaring costs of attending major sporting events. Watching the World Cup on television is simply a more sensible option for the vast majority of football/soccer fans in 2026.
Sat 13 Jun 2026 03:20 PM CDT
Video Assisted Replay (VAR): Switzerland v Qatar had an event which illustrates the corruption that is FIFA. At 17 minutes into the first half, after a Swiss buildup, the ball is played deep into the Qatar box, resulting in a violent collision between the goalkeeper and a Swiss attacker. A penalty kick was correctly awarded by the referee. All of these calls are reviewed by VAR these days. We the TV viewers get one quick look at what appears to be the Swiss attacker being offside. A VAR ruling of offside would nullify the penalty kick. We the viewers never got a VAR look of the play, even though Fox had “VAR check” on the screen and everyone is waiting for a decision. Why weren’t we given a VAR look at that play? Thierry Henry asked that same question at halftime after he analyzed the play. Clearly, the reason was the Swiss player was indeed offside, but FIFA wanted Switzerland to have the PK. Switzerland leads 1-0 at halftime. They outclass Qatar, but that is blatant VAR prejudice from FIFA. This is what fans mean when they say it’s less about the game on the field than ever. Click.
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Automated Balls & Strikes (ABS) has come to MLB in 2026, and it was long overdue. What really annoys sports fans are players who spend an inordinate amount of time complaining about calls to the umps, refs, and officials. ABS has elegantly taken care of much of that in MLB. My favorite ABS moment so far was a game a week or so ago when a hitter challenged strike 1, and strike 3 in a single at-bat– and lost them both as it wasn’t even close on either call. He foolishly & arrogantly exhausted his team’s challenges in the middle-innings, on a low-leverage plate appearance, and hurt his team while making himself look really bad. It was quite a feat to behold. I was so glad I finally saw something like that happen. As a neutral fan watching the game, I’m on my feet in front of the TV saying, “STFU & hit!” I’m guessing his manager & teammates also said something similar to him after the game, out of earshot of the media.
Flopping is the soccer equivalent of arguing balls & strikes in baseball. FIFA uses VAR to review all fouls, questionable offside, touchline in/out, and will even advise the referee to issue a card. VAR is an advance, but only if it is used fairly. Flopping is the biggest competitive issue on the field in football/soccer. Kids are taught at a young age to flop, so by the time they’ve reached the professional levels they’re experts. Each flopper has their own style, an individual reflection of their need for attention & special consideration, channeled into team sports tactics. It’s not only how you flop, it’s also when & where you flop. If you flop in front of a home crowd, during an important moment in a match when emotions are running high, this can often induce a desired whistle from the referee, along with a friendly nod & wink from FIFA VAR. This could win the World Cup for your country someday, so every flopper out there is trying their hardest at this. Click.
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FIFA Men’s Rankings are linked here. Sponsored by Coke. There are 211 teams ranked, with San Marino currently last on their list. The lowest-ranked 2026 World Cup qualifiers (FIFA rank in parenthesis) are: New Zealand (85), Haiti (83), Curacao (82), Ghana (73), Cabo Verde (67), Jordan (64), Bosnia and Herzegovina (63), South Africa (61), Saudi Arabia (60), Iraq (57), Uzbekistan (51), Qatar (50), Congo DR (46), Tunisia (45), Czechia (43) & Paraguay (42); all of whom sit outside the FIFA top-40. These are all teams that shouldn’t be there, and wouldn’t be there with a traditional 32-team field. If you’ve seen any of these overmatched teams play already, and objectively watched their level of play, then you know.
Only an outlier or two outside the FIFA top-40 (at the most) traditionally qualifies for a World Cup. Sixteen are listed above. I sense a form of gerrymandering is going on behind the scenes as far as these qualifying groups go. This is where things get murky murky with FIFA.
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