World Cup 2026 – What you need to know with a year to go

New York Times

a day ago

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Hello! Today marks exactly a year until the start of the 2026 World Cup. We're here to explain the numbers, the politics, the finance, the geography and the key players behind the globe's biggest sporting event — and the biggest tournament FIFA has ever staged.
On the way:
In the spirit of a certain fast-food outlet, FIFA's approach to the 2026 World Cup was to supersize it.
The 48-nation event is the largest in the tournament's history. It's the first to be spread across an entire continent, with 4,800 kilometres between Mexico City, the southern-most host, and Vancouver, furthest north. FIFA's projected earnings are leaping from $7.6bn in the four-year cycle to the last World Cup in 2022 to $13bn this time around. Extra large was the cry.
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A year today, the competition gets going in Mexico City, with the first of 104 matches. FIFA already owns the biggest sporting event on the planet — a television audience of 1.5bn for the final in Qatar three years ago was 11 times the U.S. audience for the 2025 Super Bowl, and five billion people are expected to watch worldwide in 2026 — but by expanding from 32 teams and naming Mexico, Canada and the United States as joint hosts, soccer's world governing body is consolidating that status.
The U.S. in isolation is an example of the sport's capacity to grow at an exponential rate. When the country staged the World Cup in 1994, Major League Soccer did not even exist. Today, the division contains billion-dollar clubs, some of whom rank among the game's most valuable. It boasts Lionel Messi, the finest player of his era (and arguably any other). Mauricio Pochettino is the USMNT's head coach, as high-profile a name as they have ever been able to recruit.
Soccer has taken time to crack the States, but it's getting there, and FIFA sending both this year's Club World Cup and next year's World Cup to North America is a concerted commercial push on that front. There's no getting away from the political manoeuvring involved in allocating these tournaments, but the fact remains: when the World Cup kicks off, it's the only show in town.
FIFA's selection of countries to host its showpiece is increasingly becoming a bone of contention. That was true of Russia in 2018 and true of Qatar four years later. It's most certainly true of Saudi Arabia, which won the bidding unopposed for the 2034 World Cup. Many argue football's administrators are brushing over serious matters such as human rights concerns.
Handing the 2026 edition to the U.S. alongside Mexico and Canada involved much interaction between FIFA and the White House. Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of American President Donald Trump, was a key point of contact in the run up to the 'United' bid winning the race. Latterly, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has grown very close with Trump — to a degree that is concerning some of Infantino's colleagues.
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North America, however, is well equipped for a World Cup. Much of the necessary infrastructure is in place and while stadium alterations will be required, none are having to be built from scratch. The 11 U.S. cities where matches will be played are wrestling with the federal government for $625m in security funding, and they're not exactly hyped yet. Trump's recent travel ban could have implications for the travelling parties from specific countries such as Iran. But unlike previous tournaments, it's taken as read that the U.S., Mexico and Canada will be logistically ready.
Argentina and Messi (assuming his pencil has enough lead left in it) go into 2026 as defending champions. The bookmakers narrowly favour France, and public confidence must be swinging towards Lamine Yamal and Spain. A 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo should be in town, too, keeping the old flame alive. But him and Messi aside, 2026 is a new frontier.
Our American subscribers would hope to hear us say that 2026 will be the USMNT's moment. We'd love to… but Pochettino has hit the ground crawling, his team were smashed 4-0 by Switzerland in a friendly yesterday (their fourth defeat back-to-back), and errors like Johnny Cardoso's against Turkey last weekend, above, are doing them in.
I thought I'd defer to The Athletic's USMNT expert, Paul Tenorio, to give his take on where Poch is at with 12 months until showtime:
'The honeymoon is over and a marriage counsellor is on retainer. The losses in the Nations League riled both an already-concerned fanbase and a coach who expected more effort out of his players. Now, Pochettino is trying to shake things up with an MLS-heavy squad. He's under deadline to create a connection with his core players and foster some positivity — and results — around this group.'
That reads like trouble in paradise to me. We'll be back with more of the fall-out in tomorrow's TAFC.
Back in 2001, FIFA altered its qualification rules to deny the World Cup holders an automatic place at the next tournament. Fortunately, Argentina stormed the South American (CONMEBOL) group, so they'll be in the U.S. to have a go at becoming the first back-to-back winners since Brazil in '62.
With 12 months to go, Lionel Scaloni's squad are one of 13 countries booked in for the 2026 finals. Mexico and the USMNT, both of whom are habitual participants, received a place as hosts, as did Canada. Familiar faces Brazil, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Iran and Ecuador have made the cut again.
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Uzbekistan and Jordan are first-time qualifiers and bona fide unknown quantities. As for New Zealand, the Oceania Football Confederation campaign was so mismatched that they averaged just under six goals a game; a case of beating whatever's put in front of you.
As the slots fill up and we count down to December's draw (most likely in Vegas, baby), keep an eye on the following nations: 2024 Copa America finalists Colombia have work to do. New Caledonia — population 290,000 — are hanging in there. And is Norway's first World Cup trip in almost 30 years in the bag? A perfect record in a group where Italy are imploding means a berth is theirs for the taking; and doesn't Erling Haaland just love the smell of blood.
Every World Cup produces a breakout star, but in 2026, Lamine Yamal can't really be it. He might be 17 years old and he might not have played in a World Cup before, but by the time he does, the Barcelona winger will have won just about everything else there is to win — including, potentially, the Ballon d'Or.
Be psyched for his involvement, though, because Yamal is the real deal. It's why Barcelona are committing to paying him up to $880,000 a week, and why trading cards with his face on are soaring in value. He's patenting those step-off-the-right, finish-with-the-left-foot goals — and the variety in the way he carries the ball (see our graphic, above) is purgatory for a full-back.
The Athletic's data writers have picked a list of 10 players, Yamal included, who they think could steal the show in the States. Two names they didn't mention but who I'm keen to see out there (aside from Real Madrid's Dean Huijsen, who is sky high in the breakout stakes) are Premier League-bound Cherki and his France colleague Michael Olise. The Bayern Munich factor is real, but 12 goals and 15 assists from Olise equates to a hell of a first season in the Bundesliga.
For those of us who remember the '94 World Cup clearly, two memories are abiding: Diana Ross' shambolic penalty during the opening ceremony, and Roberto Baggio outdoing her on the comedy scale with that decisive spot-kick in the final between Italy and Brazil. It's still on its way to Mars.
The competition dared to be different, though, and it was. The States got its first taste of the World Cup. Detroit's Pontiac Silverdome staged indoor matches for the first time (minus air-conditioning, so the humidity was hideous). The USMNT broke from the traditions of international shirts with their famous denim Adidas number — which, if we're honest, has aged pretty well.
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But the event which resonates most all these years later concerns the Group A game between the U.S. and Colombia, played in California on June 22. The USMNT secured passage to the knockouts by winning 2-1, aided by an own goal from Andres Escobar. Ten days after Colombia's defeat, Escobar was shot dead in his homeland.
Were the own goal and his murder linked? No motive has ever been established, and some of his old team-mates doubt it. But as ex-USMNT defender Alexi Lalas said in this gripping oral history of the match: 'I don't think there's anybody who was on that field that day who wouldn't gladly lose that game if it meant that Andres Escobar was still with us.'