Expansion worked

You can say that FIFA’s naked desire for planeloads of extra revenue is the reason behind the expansion of the World Cup field from 32 to 48 teams … and you’d be right. But also, expansion kind of … worked out? Since so many of the added slots went to squads from outside the usual Europe-South America contingent, that led to magnificent runs from nations like Cape Verde and DR Congo. They gave us some of the best stories of the tournament and threw scares into the big dogs, as well. What more can you want? (Well, aside from another 16 nations … which are probably coming in 2030.)

Advertisement

Pricey tickets

Here’s the problem with sticker shock: If someone else is willing to pay it, that means they weren’t quite so shocked. When FIFA unveiled its ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup, prices which began in the mid-three figures and ran upward from there fast, plenty of people wailed about greed … and plenty more broke out their credit cards. You have to concede: FIFA correctly read the state of the World Cup ticket market. Considering how the prices never really fell from their initial highs, it’s possible FIFA even under-priced the tickets, grim as that thought might be. In other words: if you want to attend a World Cup match, you should’ve started saving 10 years ago. High ticket prices are here to stay.

For the good of the World Cup tournament as a whole, it’s probably better that the USMNT lost to Belgium immediately after FIFA decided to “suspend” a red card suspension against America’s Folarin Balogun. Yes, the original red card penalty was unnecessarily harsh, but the idea of a bureaucratic autocracy arbitrarily invoking and revoking its own rules doesn’t sit well with anyone except the one nation that benefits from it. The specifics of how many FIFA officials were involved, and how much President Trump may have affected the proceedings, don’t matter nearly as much as the fact that the decision happened at all. It’s an ugly precedent to set, and one the USMNT might regret in World Cups to come.

All of that said, there would not have been a Balogun red card had it not been for VAR — Video Assistant Referee. Two things can be true at the same time: Using technology to correct officiating mistakes is a good thing. Also, using technology to officiate a sporting event down to the literal touch of a hair is going too far. VAR proved in this World Cup it can both correct mistakes and create ones the human eye was never meant to see.

Advertisement

This one will linger for years in the minds of the Three Lions faithful: England, barely 5 regulation minutes from a spot in the World Cup final, giving up an equalizer and a dagger to Argentina in a wildly entertaining, euphoric, heartbreaking semifinal match. Add this one to the ever-growing list of England agonies that we’ll roll out and recount every World Cup from here on out. Whether manager Thomas Tuchel has the opportunity to coach the team again in an international competition remains to be seen, but his decision to park the bus for most of the second half will remain one of the most painful what-if moments in English soccer history for years to come.

The other semifinal will stick with us, too, mainly because of the fact that the overwhelming tournament favorite suddenly forgot how to score … which, as it turns out, is a real problem in a semifinal match. Les Bleus had stormed all the way to the semis with a combination of brilliance and brutality, humiliating nation after nation and looking like a champion-in-waiting. And then it all … just … vanished. Spain weren’t perfect, but they didn’t need to be, not when France simply couldn’t make space or make shots. The dramatic reversal of fortune is going to sting France for some time to come.

Advertisement

Cinderellas at the Dance

One of these days, a Paraguay is going to beat a France, a DR Congo is going to beat an England, a Cape Verde is going to beat an Argentina. We got reasonably close to all of those results this time around, but when it happens, the winning underdog is going to celebrate for a week. It’ll be glorious.

American journeys

This one is more domestic than international, but if we learned nothing else from this World Cup, let’s please learn this: we’ve got one hell of a great country here, even if we need to hear it from visiting international tourists. Sure, there are the big targets like Buc-ees, ranch dressing, and complimentary chips and salsa. But the visitors to America discovered so much more to love about this nation … and, if you were paying attention, America discovered so much to love about the rest of the world. Sports are a universal language, and so is joy and heartbreak. Worth remembering when we descend too far down dark rabbit holes on our phones.

Advertisement

Hydration breaks

Weird how this suddenly became a thing, huh? And weird how the hydration breaks, at least on American TV, suddenly were filled with ads. Yes, it was only three minutes, but it was a brazen alteration of the traditional soccer run of play — go for 45 straight minutes, hack it or fail — and sadly, the hydration breaks will now be with us forever. Sorry, world.

The Norway/Man City giant wasn’t exactly an unknown when this World Cup began, but he immediately vaulted himself into the Messi-Mbappe conversation with his uncanny ability to score pretty much whenever he felt like it. Plus, his endearingly goofy social media persona resonated well as part of Norway’s long run. He’ll be around World Cups for a while, but this was the one where he began what could be a legendary journey.