Fifa president Gianni Infantino promised the 2026 World Cup would be the "biggest event in the history of mankind".
The report indicates that fifa president Gianni Infantino promised the 2026 World Cup would be the “biggest event in the history of mankind”.
It further notes that infantino likened the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada to 104 Super Bowls in one month.
It was a bold claim, so did it pan out like that?
For the first time, the World Cup featured 48 teams, with Curacao, Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan making their debuts. But did this dilute the quality of the tournament?
Then there are the mandatory, three-minute hydration breaks, regardless of conditions, which enabled broadcasters to cash in with commercials.
High ticket prices brought great controversy, but did they keep fans away?
The politicising of the World Cup began before the tournament with visa issues and Iran’s participation, then US President Donald Trump intervened to get Florian Balogun’s red card overturned.
Pierlugi Collina, Fifa’s head of referees, waged war on time-wasting and pushed through a raft of law changes. But did this make a real difference?
If you wanted great storylines and colour, then the group stage was a success.
Watching debutants is always part of the allure of a World Cup, and Cape Verde brought it in spades.
A tiny archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean with just 530,000 people, Cape Verde claimed incredible draws against Spain and Uruguay (and Saudi Arabia too) to finish second.
Curacao shrugged off their 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany to claim a shock point against Ecuador, too. And DR Congo claimed a draw against Portugal and got out of their group.
Without these stories, the group stage would have been pretty dull, with the major nations making light work of it.
Seventy-two matches – more games than an entire World Cup used to have – to lose just 16 teams.
