There is a familiar sense of deja vu as we approach the 2026 World Cup; an underlying excitement tinged with the gnawing feeling that this spectacle is not what we grew up with and those joyous memories are becoming ever more distant.
FIFA’s unquenchable thirst for global influence means the focus is, once again, not solely on football ahead of the big launch on Thursday when co-hosts Mexico face South Africa at the Azteca.
Gianni Infantino’s cosying up to Donald Trump was as informative as it was grotesque, demonstrating once again the Swiss lawyer’s blatant disregard for FIFA’s own rulebook regarding neutrality, as well his lust to play politician.
The result is the World Cup Infantino craved. A bloated version – the first to feature 48 teams – played out over three countries, three time zones in a region famed for squeezing the last penny out of its ‘customers’, for that is what we now are.
This is a World Cup the big cheeses want fans to consume rather than enjoy. The average Joe is no longer a football supporter, merely a client of FIFA and their commercial machine.
FIFA chief Infantino has form for distracting from World Cup focus
The Infantino-Trump love-in mirrors that of the FIFA chief’s willingness to associate himself with other fine, upstanding world leaders such as war-mongering Russian Vladimir Putin and Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, whose human rights record is best described as average.
Part of Infantino’s explanation for taking the game’s biggest event to these places is the opportunity to leave a legacy, to make football the foundation for better. Since 2018, Russia has waged war on Ukraine while Qatari pledges to reform the rights of migrant workers, thousands of whom died building the infrastructure for the tournament, have largely been unfulfilled.
There is, obviously, no chance of FIFA leaving any kind of legacy in Trump’s USA.
Indeed, the White House has arguably bigger issues to address at the minute, namely obliterating Iran. Never before has a World Cup host bombed a participant so close to the event itself. It ought to have brought questions from FIFA but it was brushed under the carpet. Any kind of action would have been a major embarrassment to Infantino who, just three months earlier, had handed Trump the farcically awful FIFA Peace Prize. You couldn’t make it up.
Issues with the US being a host aren’t just restricted to their dubious foreign policy either.
Overseas fans may be treated to the delights of meeting Trump’s beefed up law enforcement agencies. The fun police will be out in force with seemingly little room for the carnival atmospheres of previous World Cups.
Add in potential problems with the searing heat that caused games to be halted at last year’s Club World Cup – another Infantino money-making masterpiece – questionable playing surfaces, large distances between games, exorbitant ticket prices and travel costs being hiked by opportunistic host cities and it appears destined to be a World Cup that will struggle to cut through the negativity.
The World Cup remains special and should be cherished
And yet it will cut through the negativity because of the football itself.
For all its flaws, the World Cup remains special, particularly if you can find it within yourself to ignore the craven commercialism and simply focus on what we cherish the most.
There will be brilliant games, stunning goals and incredible narratives that emerge from bringing together the best players from all four corners of the world. But it’s not just about the Mbappes, the Yamals, the Ronaldos or the Messis, it is about countries such as Curacao, Cape Verde and Uzbekistan, all of whom are making their debuts on the greatest stage.
It is about gathering round a TV with loved ones in Willemstad, Praia and Tashkent. It is about community and national pride, not nationalism.
It is about creating an escape for those that need it most. In Iran, in Haiti and elsewhere in the world.
If that sounds idealistic, romantic, or downright silly, then I make no apologies. For this is what football can bring. Just imagine the scenes in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, when they play Brazil. Will it solve their inhabitants’ problems? No, of course not, but for two hours there is a distraction from the daily horrors.
And who knows, maybe Haiti can spring a surprise and stun the five-time winners. It seems unlikely but the prospect of Argentina losing to Saudi Arabia four years ago seemed fanciful, as did the current holders drawing with Iceland in 2018.
Messi set for World Cup swansong
Lionel Messi played in both of those games and the 2026 World Cup will be his final appearance on the world stage. The Inter Miami superstar turns 39 years of age later this month but who would bet against him leading Argentina to back-to-back triumphs?
Lionel Scaloni’s men will not find it easy, though. South American rivals Brazil appear short this time around, even under the careful guidance of father figure Carlo Ancelotti, but the European challenge spearheaded by France, Spain and Portugal is formidable,.
Spain look a good bet to back up their European Championship triumph, France’s rich attacking resources will make them challengers and Portugal have a dreamy midfield of Bruno Fernandes alongside Paris Saint-Germain metronomes Joao Neves and Vitinha. It would be remiss having mentioned Messi not to pay a passing reference to his old sparring partner Cristiano Ronaldo. Now 41, it remains to be seen if the former Real Madrid star can continue to add something to Portugal or, as is the suspicion, his overbearing presence is a hinderance to a hugely talented squad.
And what of England? Thomas Tuchel was brought in to provide the X-factor, to help the Three Lions find those intangible elements that have eluded them previously. As was the case with Gareth Southgate, he will be judged when it comes to the crunch: those vital moments that separate defeat from victory that have continually fallen the wrong way.
The nation will hold its breath for each game, rare moments of unity among the social division.
We must hold on to that. Ignore the inevitable hot air from FIFA and Trump, the in-your-face proclamations from Infantino and cling on to what really matters, the beauty and innocence of a World Cup.
It remains the greatest show on earth.
