2026 World Cup, one year out: The 10 biggest storylines, from Lionel Messi to Donald Trump
On the field, its contenders are assembling. World Cup qualifying is underway or complete on all six continents. Eleven nations have secured their place at the expanded 48-team tournament, which organizers say will be the grandest sporting event in human history.
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Off the field, though, those organizers have work to do — and minefields to navigate. As the one-year-out milestone neared, for example, U.S. authorities were violently quashing protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles — which, 366 days from now, is set to host the U.S. national team's World Cup opener, the curtain raiser for what is supposed to be an 'inclusive,' 'global,' multicultural celebration of soccer and humanity.
U.S. President Donald Trump's travel ban also clouds FIFA's promise that all fans are 'welcome.' FIFA, nonetheless, has aligned itself with Trump, who will surely be front and center as the World Cup kicks off next June, no matter how internationally unpopular he gets.
That, too, will be a part of the 2026 story, as will unforeseen sagas. 'There are gonna be geopolitical issues that we don't even know right now,' said Meg Kane, the CEO of Philadelphia's World Cup host committee, 'that are gonna affect the tournament.'
But we'll begin our rundown of 10 storylines on the field — with the GOATs, their successors, and a co-host bleeding hope.
Fans of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi might witness the end of the global icons' storied careers at the 2026 World Cup. (Photo by)
(Yasser Bakhsh via Getty Images)
Swan songs for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo?
Before, during and after the 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi said, 'seguramente,' surely, that the Mundial in Qatar would be his last. Then he won it. That cathartic triumph helped revitalize him, and turned the Argentine national team into his happy place. Eighteen months later, he won a second straight Copa América. Now, although he hasn't explicitly said it, all indications are that Messi is probable for a sixth World Cup next summer, during which he will turn 39 years old.
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Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, will be 41. When he exited the 2022 World Cup in tears, having been benched and then ousted in the quarterfinals by Morocco, he assumed that his 'dream' of lifting sport's most coveted trophy had 'ended.' But two-and-a-half years later, he is once again starting and scoring — and winning trophies — for Portugal.
So, it seems that both generational stars will come to North America next summer for their sixth World Cups — and this time, surely, their swan songs. The more compelling question: Will they be any good? Will they continue to inspire their respective countries? Or will their aging legs and all-consuming presence bog down their teams and impede evolution?
Lamine Yamal and the next generation
Messi and Ronaldo remain the two most famous names in the sport — and perhaps the world — but they're no longer the planet's best players. And by next summer, that title could belong to a kid less than half their age, a teenager who's taken Europe by storm: Lamine Yamal.
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The 17-year-old has already helped lead Spain and FC Barcelona to titles. He has dazzled in the Champions League and wowed the world. In 2026, at his first World Cup, he could confirm his superstardom, and sprint down the same path that Messi set all those years ago.
There are others, though, who could also burst onto the scene. There's French forward Désiré Doué, and Norway's Erling Haaland — who, at 25, could grace his first major tournament. There are also a few Spanish teammates of Yamal who could steal the show: Pedri and Nico Williams.
Who are the 2026 World Cup favorites?
Spain, the reigning European champs, deserve their status as the betting favorite to win the 2026 World Cup. But a year out, the field of challengers is deep. Argentina still seems formidable. France still has loads of talent. Brazil now has a revered coach, Carlo Ancelotti, and a year to work through its troubles. Portugal, England and Germany should be in the mix. Uruguay and Colombia could be equally potent — and they have more familiarity with American stadiums.
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Generally, the balance of power in men's soccer looks much like it did in 2022. And in 2022, it gave us a World Cup for the ages. Three years later, there are once again a dozen teams lurking below the elite — including Norway, Japan, Morocco (again) and Ecuador — who could make noise in the knockout rounds. And there are two co-hosts, Canada and Mexico, who look capable of riding a wave of public support to a stage they've never reached before.
Mauricio Pochettino's U.S. men's national team seems to be regressing ahead of co-hosting the World Cup next summer. (Photo by John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
(John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF via Getty Images)
A flailing USMNT
The other co-host, the U.S., left Qatar 2022 'on our way,' as midfielder Weston McKennie said, to 'be[ing] giants eventually.' The Americans were rising, above their region, apparently toward the upper echelons of the sport. 'If we continue to develop in the way that we have,' then-head coach Gregg Berhalter said in 2023, 'the sky's the limit.'
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Sadly, though, they did not continue to develop. They plateaued; fired Berhalter; spent $6 million per year on a renowned replacement, Mauricio Pochettino … and continued to regress.
Now, they have lost four straight games for the first time in 18 years. On Tuesday night, they dipped to a new low. Rather than rehearsing for next summer, Christian Pulisic and others are skipping this summer's Gold Cup. Former players have called them out. Pulisic's dad has clapped back. Some fans are fuming; others are booing; others have simply checked out. It is difficult to imagine a national team generating less public excitement one year out from a home World Cup.
The impacts of World Cup expansion
Although the top half of the 2026 field will look familiar, the bottom half will feature new faces. Uzbekistan and Jordan qualified last week. The likes of Iraq, Cape Verde, Venezuela and Gabon could realistically join them.
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That, in part, is because the World Cup has grown from 32 to 48 teams; there are 16 new seats at the table. Caribbean minnows and tiny emirates now stand a chance. They'll give the World Cup fresh flavors.
The big unknown is whether they'll make it better. Will they spice up the early stages? Or will they just get hammered? If there are blowouts — especially with most third-place teams now advancing to a Round of 32 in FIFA's flawed 48-team format — the group stage could be dull. But if there are upsets, it could be gloriously chaotic.
Are foreign fans welcome?
Off the field, in theory, this World Cup will be a monthlong festival of football, a 48-nation, continent-wide fiesta unlike anything the United States has ever seen. Back in 2022, upon naming the 16 host cities, FIFA president Gianni Infantino predicted that North America would be 'invaded by a big wave of joy and happiness." The 6 million foreigners expected to visit, per FIFA, will help bring the World Cup to life.
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But only if they can get visas. And only if they aren't deterred by detentions and deportations, toxic xenophobia, tariff-fueled tensions, and all the other reasons that fewer people have been traveling to the U.S. in recent months. There are 'growing concerns about America's welcomeness,' as U.S. Travel Association CEO Geoff Freeman recently wrote. And there are growing concerns that all of this will affect the World Cup.
Organizers and even the Trump administration have insisted that all are welcome. But fans from Iran — one of 11 counties that have qualified, and one of 12 countries subject to Trump's full travel ban — apparently aren't. Immigration experts are also certain that thousands of fans will be denied visas — or will be stuck in monthslong lines, unable to get an interview, when the tournament kicks off.
The most expensive World Cup ever
Others will be deterred by cost. The U.S. is already one of the world's most expensive countries to visit. A World Cup trip — especially one that follows a team to multiple cities — will require thousands and thousands of dollars for airfare and lodging and food, money that most people simply don't have.
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Oh, and hundreds or thousands of dollars for tickets. When those go on sale this fall, insiders expect them to be obnoxiously expensive. FIFA's initial prices for the 2025 Club World Cup, a start-up tournament, were 'alarming' and worrisome to diehard supporters. The 2026 prices — which will reportedly be subject to dynamic pricing — will be among the highest in soccer history.
And so, as Bailey Brown, president of the Independent Supporters Council, a group representing soccer fans across the U.S. and Canada, told Yahoo Sports in an email this past winter: 'Many of the most passionate fans will be priced out of enjoying the sport because of it.'
President Donald Trump could have a prominent presence at the 2026 World Cup due to his close relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
President Trump's starring role
Another potential deterrent for some, but an attraction for others, will be the spotlight that FIFA gifts to Trump. Infantino has built a tight, often fawning relationship with the U.S. president. Trump has given Infantino seats onstage at his inauguration, and at high-level meetings. He has given Infantino a platform in the Oval Office to sell the Club World Cup. The assumption is that Infantino will reciprocate with whatever Trump wants in 2026.
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That could merely be a seat in luxury suites. Or, it could be a stage for state propaganda and 'sportswashing,' à la the one that Infantino gave Vladimir Putin in 2018. It could be a forgettable footnote; or, for some soccer fans it could corrupt the viewing experience.
Is the U.S. ready?
Operationally, the two main questions hounding U.S. organizers concern security and transportation.
The former became an acute worry when last summer's Copa América final descended into 'inhumane' chaos; but most stakeholders say FIFA is more prepared.
It's the latter — the challenge of moving millions of fans across America, to stadiums and fan festivals — that worries those who know the ins and outs of major soccer tournaments. Only three of 11 U.S. stadiums are accessible by subway or mass rapid transit. Many are surrounded by parking lots, but those will be swallowed up by extended outer security perimeters. Most if not all cities are devising temporary solutions to shuttle fans to and fro, but will they work? And will FIFA's in-development 2026 World Cup app, which will feature transport guidance, actually be helpful?
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Much of that remains to be determined.
Will the World Cup leave a lasting legacy?
The last men's World Cup in North America, USA 1994, led to the launch of Major League Soccer and transformative growth. What impact will this one have?
Everyone, from the host cities to MLS and the U.S. Soccer Federation, is trying — and struggling — to answer that question.
They all want to build new fields and fund new programs, especially in underserved communities. But, as Chris Canetti, the president of Houston's World Cup host committee, said, 'these plans and these initiatives all cost money.' And while the city host committees have been trying to raise money, FIFA has clamped down on their ability to sell sponsorships.
FIFA will monopolize the World Cup's revenues (some $13 billion). It has taken total control of the tournament, and will take its money back to global soccer. U.S. Soccer isn't involved like it was in 1994, when the World Cup's profits birthed a thriving charitable foundation. This time around, the legacy will be indirect and piecemeal. It won't dismantle the pay-to-play system that plagues American soccer. MLS and the USSF, therefore, will have to get bold and creative to maximize what everyone agrees is a 'unique opportunity' for 'transformational change.'
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