You'll Never Fully Embrace This World Cup

Let's be honest, you'll never fully embrace this World Cup. You'll always find something to criticize. Despite Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Neymar, Yamal, Kane, Haaland, Vinicius, Modric, and the rest. Despite the record number of goals. Some flaw will inevitably catch your eye. And yes, there are flaws, that's undeniable.

True, there are too many teams. Yes, the schedule is odd. And the prices across the ocean are exorbitant. But let's remember that even half a century ago, there was significant discontent against then-FIFA president João Havelange, who dared to increase the number of teams from 16 to 24. Before Spain '82, he declared he'd be the happiest man on the planet if he saw Algeria and Cameroon in the final. Later, when it was decided in 1994 that the next World Cup would feature 32 teams, there were again many dissenters, including Dimitar Penev and his golden boys. In other words, the valid criticisms we hear now have a long history. As do clichés like "football is just running now" and "there are no weak teams anymore."

In such cases, the present often falls victim to itself. I vividly recall in the 90s, "The Skipper" recounting a charity match in Italy featuring stars from the 70s and 80s. He lamented the absence of such artists on the pitch. Indeed, Zico and Platini were gone, but we were in the era of Stoichkov, Baggio, Klinsmann, Weah, Cantona. Later, people sighed for them too. Recently, an Irish journalist wrote that the best World Cup you've ever seen is the one you watched when you were 11. Give or take a year or two, of course. The sweetness in that assessment, he says, comes from being at the cusp of adolescence, old enough to appreciate the magic of the World Cup, yet young enough not to grasp the cynicism of it all. There's truth to that. That's why I started this way – you'll never fully love the 2026 World Cup.

I also think about this: when we compare with the past, we are, to some extent, expressing our feelings towards the modern world – commercial, digital, consumer-driven. And again, we return to the "quest" then and now. 30-40 years ago, commentators and pundits lamented the lack of video replays in football. Scandalous incidents, despite their obviousness, went unpunished even in more recent times. For example, Lampard's disallowed goal against Germany in 2010. Or that goal by Argentina against Mexico in the same World Cup, where it was clear Tevez was offside when Messi passed to him in front of the goal. It was even visible on the stadium's video screen, but referee Rosetti and his assistant weren't allowed to use video arbitration at the time.

It's another matter that things aren't exactly on the right track. In a podcast, former Soviet international Igor Shalimov joked that it wouldn't be surprising if, nowadays, during a VAR review, Maradona's hand was deemed to be in a natural position and no penalty was awarded in Naples. Roy Keane rightly expressed his irritation about the endless discussions of the rules. On the other hand, it couldn't be any other way; the world of technology is making giant strides – from five or six cameras broadcasting big matches in the 80s, we moved to 18 cameras for the Euro '96 final in London, reached 35 in Russia in 2018, and now find ourselves with 50 at the 2026 World Cup. Everything is now visible and travels the world in seconds. Literally.

And back then, it was romantic. Although, every now and then, we'd find ourselves on the boat of ignorance. But it was still romantic. I don't think I'm the only one who fell asleep after the victory against Argentina, already thinking about the Round of 16 match against Romania. That's how it was announced – we'd play the Romanians in LA. Yes, but Nigeria's late second goal against Greece reshuffled the group standings. However, the information didn't reach Dallas from Boston in time, even though Sofia had hinted at what was happening in the other match. It wasn't until noon the next day that I learned we'd be facing the Mexicans instead of our northern neighbors. And a funny incident from 2002. At that World Cup, commentators wouldn't reveal the result of the second group match to keep things more interesting for the viewer. France had just lost to Denmark and was heading home, and Senegal vs. Uruguay was about to start on tape delay. A café, a large group, jokes and banter. Around the middle of the first half, the Africans took a 3-0 lead. "Uruguay will equalize!" someone shouted. "Yeah, right. I bet you!" another chimed in. Done – a bet. In the end, the match finished 3-3, and the loser bought the drinks. It later turned out the winner had used a "cheat sheet" from teletext. Laughter ensued.

So, enjoy the World Cup – at whatever stage of your life, filtered through the peculiarities of the era in which it takes place, it always carries a special emotion with its heroes, records, dramas, and triumphs.