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My first introduction to World Cup mania came courtesy of a soda can. In 1989, I was a kid visiting Italy for the first time, and Coca-Cola released special-edition cans in honor of the country hosting the following year’s FIFA World Cup. One featured a jaunty stick figure in red, white and green—the colors of the Italian flag—with a soccer ball for a head. I brought one of those cans back home and kept it on my dresser for years because it reminded me of how much I had loved Italy. As for soccer? Not so much. For decades, that souvenir can was pretty much the extent of World Cup fever in my life.
Now, the sport—along with all its heated global rivalries and wild superfandom—is descending on North America. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, the largest in history, will run for 39 days, from June 11 to July 19, and feature matches in 16 host cities. The United States will hold games in 11 cities across the country (78 of the 104 World Cup matches), while Mexico will host in three cities and Canada in two.
We know what you’re thinking: The U.S. kind of seems like an odd choice for a host country. Yes, we certainly have our sports obsessions, from the NFL to MLB, but soccer—or football, as most of the world calls it—has long been more associated with after-school sports programs and youth leagues.
That could all change this summer. America loves nothing more than an over-the-top spectacle, and the World Cup (which the U.S. actually hosted back in 1994) is undergoing a major and, for some fans, controversial makeover. For better or worse, the tournament’s 21st-century North American debut is shaping up to be one for the record books.
So whether you’re a die-hard sports fan or just want to understand what everybody’s even talking about, we’ve rounded up the most interesting facts, controversies and cultural moments surrounding this year’s World Cup. Read on to find out why this summer’s must-watch event is going to be uniquely American.
Scarcity makes the World Cup special. Like the Olympics, it’s held just once every four years, and it’s the culmination of a yearslong process involving more than 200 national teams competing around the world for a shot at glory in the final tournament. After roughly three years of qualifying matches, the massive field is narrowed to just a few dozen teams—this year’s top contenders include Spain, France, Argentina, Brazil and England. The two final victors then head to the coveted main event, to be held this year on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
With so many teams from every corner of the globe competing, calling the World Cup a worldwide sensation is an understatement. The last time the World Cup was held—in Qatar, in 2022—it reached 5 billion fans across all media. Yes, that’s billion with a b. The final game between Argentina and France became the most-watched World Cup final ever, drawing a live audience of nearly 571 million viewers globally. To put that kind of number into an American perspective, the NFL’s biggest game that year, Super Bowl LVI between the Rams and Bengals, averaged just over 112 million viewers—massive by NFL standards, but less than 20% of the World Cup viewership.
Just imagine if American football or baseball fans had to suffer through years of highs and lows, watching and anxiously waiting to see if their favorite team would make it to the championship. That’s what’s happening for soccer fans right now.
Love it or leave it, soccer is going to be pretty inescapable this summer in the U.S., and the head of FIFA, soccer’s governing body, insists it’s a subject that’s about so much more than just sport. “Football is about joy, happiness and smiles, while bringing people together from all over the world to create shared moments for billions of fans,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently said. He added that it’s not only “the biggest sporting event on the planet” but also “a chance to invest in something that connects and inspires with a truly global audience.”
On that note, we scoured the internet to find out what’s really landing—and what’s missing the net—with World Cup fans, along with the background and buzz you need to get up to speed on North America’s place in this year’s games.
We don’t need to tell you that things are pricey in America right now. But sky-high World Cup costs have taken things to a new level. Thanks to dynamic pricing set by FIFA, premium tickets for the World Cup final could set a fan back nearly $33,000 per person! Even an average ticket for a normal match will cost you around $1,000 (though there are some “cheaper” tickets available). Let’s just say some of the host cities are none too pleased. On May 27, New York and New Jersey’s attorneys general launched a probe into FIFA about its ticket practices to see whether it violated consumer protection laws.
Hotels in host cities had originally anticipated large crowds and more demand, and they reportedly jacked up rates. But fan backlash and sluggish bookings have complicated those overly rosy projections. As Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, told the Athletic, “it is not the cornucopia that FIFA talked about.”
Read more on USA Today, NPR and The Athletic
Is this the World Cup or the Super Bowl? The most-anticipated soccer match of the last four years will be entertaining in one very American way: For the first time ever, it will feature a halftime show, starring Madonna, Shakira and the K-pop band BTS. Coldplay’s Chris Martin curated the event, which aims to raise $100 million for the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund.
But while the money will go to a good cause, not everyone is thrilled about the glitzy spectacular. Some international fans are complaining that interrupting the game will disrupt the pace of play and take the focus away from the competition and its players.
Read more on FIFA.com and The New York Post
In past World Cups, 32 teams were split into eight groups of four. Each team played three matches, with the top two teams from each group advancing. That created a 16-team knockout round, which then went into quarterfinals, semifinals and the final championship match. With this year’s World Cup, however, FIFA has expanded the field to 48 teams, taking the total number of matches from 64 to a whopping 104.
Critics point out the expansion could allow weaker teams to progress further, encourage teams to manipulate outcomes by playing for math rather than wins, and strain players due to a heavier schedule. Fans are divided: Some see the added games as a money grab that dilutes the competition, while others say it makes the tournament more inclusive and competitive.
Read more on Reddit and Reuters
Yes, grass. Even the slightest difference in grass length can massively shift the speed of gameplay, make the ground feel like “a trampoline” and be “a disaster”—something players have previously complained about with U.S. turf. The main issue? The U.S. doesn’t have many dedicated soccer stadiums, which means these all-purpose venues have very little time to grow the proper grass under optimal conditions. Houston’s stadium, for example, hosted a rodeo in March on a fully dirt surface—not a blade of grass in sight until last week. Incidentally, that grass was grown in Colorado, then transported to Texas in refrigerated trucks.
To mitigate these issues, FIFA partnered with turf labs to improve upon America’s traditional “sod-on-plastic” grass-growing technique. Scientists ended up with a blend of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass. To increase its stability, they “studded [the grass] with plastic fibers, sewn in about every five millimeters by a machine that looks like a Zamboni.”
Read more on The Atlantic
This is the scientific term for the threshold at which heat strain for players can kick in—78.8 degrees Fahrenheit—something that could affect up to one-third of the World Cup matches this year. The U.S. cities where this number is regularly crossed (by a lot) during the World Cup’s dates? Houston, Miami and Dallas. While FIFA won’t consider postponing a game until it’s a sweltering 89.6 degrees, the heat could still cause significant issues for both fans and players.
In addition to ping-ponging between extremely different weather throughout North America, athletes will be dealing with varying time zones and altitudes—all of which can make it harder to play.
Read more on USA Today
The heat is just one issue. FIFA has also introduced universal cooling breaks, as previously mentioned. Another change? The official World Cup ball, the Trionda, may limit how far those long-distance kicks actually go. This is according to a group of scientists who have been doing wind-tunnel experiments on the World Cup’s official Adidas balls for the past two decades. After determining the ball’s drag coefficient, they determined that the “Trionda may very slightly punish extreme distance, but it should reward clean technique and predictable flight. Goalkeepers, defenders hitting long passes and long-range shooters are where [to] look first for visible differences.”
But—curve ball!—that may not be the case in Mexico City, which is hosting five games. Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca sits a whopping 7,350 feet above sea level, and the thinner air there will reduce drag, meaning the ball will travel faster, straighter and up to 5 yards farther than it will elsewhere. Translation: You just might see some insanely long-range kicks (aka “thunderbastard kicks,” according to U.K. vernacular) here, despite the Trionda. That said, since the ball will encounter less air resistance, it also won’t bend in the ways that players may expect.
Read more on MIT Technology Review and The Tournament Scout
Apparently, Kansas City hasn’t had a proper jail since 2009, so it’s been holding lawbreakers in police stations or sending them to Missouri jails more than 50 miles away. But with an estimated 650,000 World Cup fans heading to the city this summer for six games—including one with Lionel Messi and potentially another that pits him against Christiano Ronaldo in the finals—officials thought there might be some mischief afoot and decided to create a temporary jail costing $25.8 million.
However, there’s one big problem: Because of delays in manufacturing and staffing issues, it will not be ready in time for the World Cup. Whoops!
Read more on The Athletic
Many international travelers have expressed concern about attending the World Cup, in part due to the changing rules around travel into the U.S. For example, last year, visitors from 50 countries were required to pay travel bonds of up to $15,000 before entering the country. Several of those nations—Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Tunisia—have World Cup teams, raising concerns among fans hoping to see the game in person. The Trump administration has since said it will waive the visa bond requirement for qualifying fans who purchase match tickets.
Other worries surround the potential scrutiny of travelers’ social media histories by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as an increased immigration enforcement presence at airports and an ICE presence at the matches. These and other issues—including the possibility for visitors to be detained by ICE or refused admission to the country at the last minute—have prompted multiple rights groups to issue World Cup travel advisories ahead of the tournament. These issues may also be contributing to lower-than-anticipated travel bookings.
Read more on ESPN and Gothamist
Well, this is awkward. Despite the war between the U.S. and Iran, the Iranian team will be participating in the World Cup. “They have qualified, and they’re actually quite a good team as well,” said FIFA president Infantino. “They really want to play, and they should play. Sports should be outside of politics.”
However, they will be staying in Mexico and commuting to the U.S. stadiums on the days of their matches. President Trump has discouraged their participation, writing on Truth Social, “I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
Read more on CNN
Whether or not soccer appeals to Americans remains up for debate. According to a Harris Poll, 45% of Americans indicate their interest in the sport is increasing. However, only about a third of the general U.S. population says it plans to watch the World Cup matches, data that’s backed up by both Numerator and Nielsen. However, that figure rises to 67% among self-identified U.S. World Cup soccer fans. Nielsen additionally notes that soccer fans skew younger, with 76% falling into the Millennial or Gen Z categories.
Still, these numbers are low when it comes to sports in the U.S. According to an S&P Global report, more than half of Americans surveyed said they regularly watch football, underscoring that football remains firmly entrenched as our country’s dominant sport.
Read more at The Harris Poll, Nielsen and S&P Global
While most people (71%) will watch the majority of games at home, 57% plan to mix it up with soccer watch parties, according to a Numerator survey. That includes 24% who will host a get-together, 25% who will watch at a friend’s house and 27% who will head to a bar or restaurant with the big game on a big screen. State governments are helping the cause, changing liquor laws for the duration of the World Cup and allowing bars and restaurants to stay open later. This includes Massachusetts, which will extend its last call until 3 a.m., and New York City, which is pushing those end times till 4 a.m. Cheers!
Read more on Numerator and Newsweek
Want to learn even more about soccer and the World Cup? We’ve rounded up a few more links to read, watch and listen to so you can get plugged into the action.
Fox Sports holds the English-language broadcasting rights in the United States for the 2026 FIFA World Cup games and will air roughly 70 matches on Fox, with an additional 34 matches on FS1. NBCUniversal has exclusive Spanish-language broadcast rights through Telemundo.
Streaming the matches will also be available through the Fox Sports app and Fox streaming platforms, while Spanish-language coverage will stream on Peacock and Telemundo’s digital platforms.
The best way to understand World Cup mania? Tune in!
Watch on Fox One
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