True to form: On the 2026 World Cup

When the 2026 World Cup kicked off on June 11 in Mexico City, the air was filled with cautious optimism. This being the first 48-team World Cup, there were apprehensions that the group stage would be low on quality and feature many one-sided games. But hope stemmed from sport’s innate ability to adjust, evolve and thrive in newer settings. After more than a month’s action, it can be safely said that the World Cup in North America has been a footballing success. Though semifinalists France, Spain, Argentina and England are all former winners, currently ranked at the top and from the pedigreed and established stables, there has been ample space for others to carve their own identities. Cape Verde — a tiny archipelago off Africa’s west coast — qualifying for the knock-outs and fighting defending champion Argentina toe-to-toe, spirited performances from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal, Egypt’s near-defeat of Argentina in the round of 16, and Norway overcoming five-time titlist Brazil and stretching England for nearly 120 minutes are all vivid examples of the wide geographical spread of sporting excellence. In fact, nine of the 10 African nations in the competition reached the knock-outs, and Asia too would have had more than just Japan and Australia if luck had favoured Iran, which crashed out despite three draws from three matches.

However, on the administrative front, the tournament has been found wanting. There were problems galore at the beginning, such as forcing Iran to camp in Mexico and travel long hours to Seattle and Los Angeles, and arbitrarily denying visas to officials and fans. But governing body FIFA has not turned over a new leaf. Among the controversies was the way the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system was applied in Argentina’s narrow 3-2 win over Egypt. The African nation saw a goal overturned for a foul committed in the lead up but did not see the same yardstick applied for one of Argentina’s. Another issue that left supporters seething was the intervention of U.S. President Donald Trump in the deferral of forward Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension in time to play Belgium in the round of 16. There is no evidence to prove that Mr. Trump’s phone call to FIFA head Gianni Infantino influenced the decision, but in a scenario where the custodian of the game has condoned every wrong from the chief organising country, suspicion is natural. Starting from Tuesday night, Kylian Mbappe’s irresistible France, Lamine Yamal’s organised Spain, Jude Bellingham’s effervescent England and Lionel Messi’s evergreen Argentina will be back mesmerising the world. But it will be in football’s best interests if its guardians alter their moral compass and march in tow.