{"id":405210,"date":"2026-07-20T13:01:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/405210\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T13:01:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:01:18","slug":"despite-some-irritating-flaws-2026-world-cup-a-rousing-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/405210\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite some irritating flaws, 2026 World Cup a rousing success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The largest, longest and most complex World Cup<\/a> in history came to a close Sunday, with Spain beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time<\/a>. But FIFA president Gianni Infantino<\/a> didn\u2019t bother waiting for the final result before passing judgment on the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy all means this World Cup has exceeded all expectations,\u201d he said during a reception at Trump Tower two days before the final kicked off. \u201cThis has not just been the greatest FIFA World Cup of all time. It is the greatest human social and cultural event that mankind has ever witnessed.\u201d<\/p>\n

No, but it was pretty good, with FIFA emerging as the World Cup\u2019s biggest winner, allowing Infantino to reportedly shore up support within the organization despite a number of norm-shattering decisions during the tournament.<\/p>\n

Attendance topped 6.8 million, a World Cup record averaging more than 65,000 fans a game. FIFA estimated the cumulative global TV audience topped 5 billion people across linear television, digital streaming and social platforms while more than 1.8 billion people were expected to watch the final, according to the BusinessStats website, making it the most-viewed sporting event in history.<\/p>\n

\"Argentina <\/p>\n

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Mart\u00ednez reacts as Spain\u2019s Ferran Torres scores during the World Cup final in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday.<\/p>\n

(Julio Cortez \/ Ap Photo\/julio Cortez)<\/p>\n

Exact figures won\u2019t be known for a few days.<\/p>\n

Revenue for the four-year World Cup cycle is anticipated to reach $13 billion, making it the first $10-billion sporting event in history \u2014 bolstering Infantino\u2019s case for reelection as FIFA\u2019s president next year.<\/p>\n

The final was among the most expensive U.S. sporting events of all time, with the get-in asking price for a single ticket on the secondary market peaking at about $7,400 three hours before kickoff and the average purchase price topping $10,800. One seat sold for $32,502, which is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on whether you\u2019re buying the ticket or selling it.<\/p>\n

Inglewood\u2019s SoFi Stadium hosted eight games<\/a>, including two of the U.S. team\u2019s three group-stage games and Spain\u2019s quarterfinal win over Belgium. The matches had a total attendance of 561,656 people, about 99.6% of capacity \u2014 that\u2019s more than each of the first three World Cups drew for the entire tournaments.<\/p>\n

\"U.S. <\/p>\n

U.S. and Paraguay oversized flags are featured on the pitch before a World Cup group stage match at SoFi Stadium on June 12.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Weather disrupted just a handful of matches, not the dozen or more that were feared, and the logistical nightmares of staging the 39-day tournament across three countries for the first time \u2014 the U.S. co-hosted the event with Mexico and Canada \u2014 never materialized. The expansion to 48 teams and 104 games, meanwhile, made room for a number of surprises that gave the tournament its life and sparkle.<\/p>\n

Tiny Cape Verde, the second-smallest country to qualify for a World Cup, made a memorable debut, playing Spain to a scoreless draw in its opener, then taking Argentina to extra time before falling in the cruelest way possible, on an own goal, in the knockout rounds.<\/p>\n

Norway, playing in the tournament for the first time this century, made it to the quarterfinals behind its hulking striker Erling Haaland, who quickly became a fan favorite while the team\u2019s supporters saw their synchronized \u201cViking Row\u201d celebration go viral.<\/p>\n

Canada and Egypt both won World Cup games for the first time, advancing to the Round of 16, with Egypt becoming one of nine African teams to make it to the knockout rounds. Of FIFA\u2019s six continental confederations, only UEFA, representing Europe, did better than Africa, sending 13 teams beyond the group stage.<\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi erased any doubt that he\u2019s the greatest player in World Cup history \u2014 if not soccer history \u2014 by willing his team to the final and winning the Silver Ball, runner-up for the tournament\u2019s most outstanding player. On Sunday, Messi was thwarted in his attempt to win a second straight World Cup and third Golden Ball, but he walked off the field at MetLife Stadium as only the second man to play in three World Cup finals.<\/p>\n

And he finished his record-setting sixth tournament as the all-time leader in games (34), assists (12) and goal contributions (33), more than standing the test of time. Two of the players Spain started against Argentina in the final hadn\u2019t even been born when Messi, 39, made his World Cup debut in 2006.<\/p>\n

But if those were the highlights, there were also lowlights.<\/p>\n

This was by far the most political World Cup in history and the first in which a host country, the U.S., was actively at war with a participating one, Iran.<\/p>\n

\"Iran <\/p>\n

Iran defender Ramin Rezaeian celebrates with teammates after scoring during a World Cup match against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium on June 15.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

That had all kinds of ramifications, starting with the State Department\u2019s refusal to grant visas to more than a dozen members of Iran\u2019s official delegation. Iran was also forced to move its base camp from Tucson to Tijuana, and though it played all its games in the U.S., it was denied permission to remain in the country after each match, an option granted to every other team.<\/p>\n

Despite the harassment, Iran did not lose a game<\/a>, playing to three draws despite having three goals \u2014 any of which would have sent it to the knockout rounds \u2014 erased by video reviews.<\/p>\n

The State Department also denied entry to Omar Abdulkadir Artan<\/a>, a decorated Somali referee, turning him away at Miami International Airport in June, citing \u201cvetting concerns.\u201d Artan, named Africa\u2019s top referee last year, had a valid entry visa and was selected by FIFA to work the tournament last April.<\/p>\n

Iran wasn\u2019t the only team to have its World Cup ended early by technology. Although the video assistant referee (VAR) system was adopted primarily to alert the head official to potential clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents, in this tournament it became intrusive<\/a>, eliminating Croatia on evidence from a NASA-level ball sensor and costing Egypt what would have been a game-winning score for a perceived foul that took place nearly 100 yards from the goal.<\/p>\n

Coaches and players are still allowed to make mistakes, but the technology now has referees making calls on things that are imperceptible to the naked eye, something critics say has removed any sense of judgment or nuance, robbing the game of much of its drama.<\/p>\n

\u201cFootball is an art. That\u2019s why we love it,\u201d said Christina Unkel, a former FIFA referee and a rules of the game analyst for multiple TV networks. \u201cWhen you do pursue black and white \u2014 objectivity is what they\u2019re trying to get to, and I get it; they want to eliminate as much subjectivity as possible \u2014 what everyone is hating is this perfection thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there was the official\u2019s call that President Trump took credit for overruling from 2,800 miles away.<\/p>\n

When striker Folarin Balogun, the U.S. team\u2019s leading scorer, was given a red card in the second half of his team\u2019s Round of 32 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, he was immediately suspended from the Americans\u2019 next elimination game with Belgium. But Trump admitted he phoned Infantino three times<\/a>, lobbying for the suspension to be rescinded.<\/p>\n

\"U.S. <\/p>\n

U.S. forward Folarin Balogun stepped on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic\u2019s foot during a World Cup match and received a red card at Levi\u2019s Stadium on July 1.<\/p>\n

(Robert Gauthier\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Less than 30 hours before the Belgium game, the card penalty was suspended and Balogun was placed on one year\u2019s probation<\/a> by FIFA\u2019s disciplinary committee, marking just the second time in World Cup history that a player who received a red card was allowed to play in his team\u2019s next game. The international uproar that followed overwhelmed the U.S. team, which played its worst game of the tournament against Belgium.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves,\u201d Balogun said in an interview with CBS<\/a>, \u201cbecause it\u2019s something that is so unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump, who was booed as he saluted the national anthem Sunday from a luxury box before the game, was booed again by the crowd of 80,663 when he strode onto the pitch for the awards ceremony afterward.<\/p>\n

UEFA, the FIFA confederation in which Belgium plays, protested the decision to let Balogun play, saying it had \u201ccrossed a red line.\u201d It was far from the only bright red line Infantino crossed in this tournament. And some of that line crossing could set dangerous precedents.<\/p>\n

Allowing the U.S. to turn away the Somali official and limit the Iranian team\u2019s time in the country, for example, could embolden future World Cup hosts to do the same. What\u2019s to stop Morocco, co-host of the 2030 tournament, from banning officials and players from Algeria over the two countries\u2019 territorial dispute in the Western Sahara? And if a red card is handed to a player from Spain, another 2030 co-host, would the Spanish prime minister call Infantino to try to get it rescinded? Despite FIFA\u2019s insistence that the disciplinary committee works independently, many believe Trump\u2019s meddling worked.<\/p>\n

But as always with FIFA, money speaks the loudest, so Infantino\u2019s norm-shattering behavior over the last year doesn\u2019t seem to have cost him much support. The Guardian reported last week that as the World Cup neared its successful conclusion, nearly 200 of FIFA\u2019s 211 member associations are endorsing Infantino\u2019s bid for reelection to a fourth term as president next March.<\/p>\n

Which is why Spain wasn\u2019t the only winner in this tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The largest, longest and most complex World Cup in history came to a close Sunday, with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405211,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[19294,61169,7363,59128,8862,423,11199,48013,19378,148815,48,52,51,47,50,49,35345,427,12967,138085,5393],"class_list":["post-405210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-argentina","tag-belgium","tag-country","tag-extra-time","tag-fifa","tag-game","tag-great-player","tag-infantino","tag-iran","tag-knockout-round","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-spain","tag-team","tag-tournament","tag-u-s-team","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405210\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}