The end is nigh. The record-breaking, mega money-spinning FIFA World Cup’s showpiece final between Spain and Argentina at the New York New Jersey Stadium will bring the curtain down on the marathon 104-match footballing carnival.
Buoyed by the expanded 48-team tournament’s success, FIFA president Gianni Infantino has already teased a bigger tournament featuring 64 teams to mark 100 years of the World Cup for the 2030 edition. That one, to be hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, will also feature special centenary celebration matches in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
This year, the football on the pitch has been brilliant with some outstanding games like England’s high octane Round of 16 victory over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, and Argentina overhauling Egypt’s two-goal lead in injury time in another Round of 16 game.
Fuelled by a heady Golden Boot race featuring Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, there have been a record 297 goals scored in 102 matches, cheered on by over 6.6 million spectators—more than the 6.4 million combined for Russia and Qatar World Cups—from the stands.
Aided by new rules, the fans could say that that their entertainment has been commensurate with the lofty prices they paid for their tickets. As we prepare for the first ever World Cup half-time show (another Americanisaton of the beautiful game, after making it a game of four quarters to accommodate ad revenue for broadcasters), here are five things things that this tournament will be remembered for.
How Haaland’s Norway won the social media World Cup
Norwegian fans in the stands rowing to Erling Haaland’s drumbeats after a Norway victory is one of the happiest (and most viewed) reels of this World Cup. Norway fans rowed across the US—in malls, airports, streets—with their team till the quarter-finals. Returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1998, talismanic goalscorer Haaland led from the front with seven goals, till England effectively shut him out of the game and sent Norway packing.
But Haaland emerged as the undisputed social media star of the tournament thanks to his antics off the pitch and funny reactions on it. In one video, he told two Americans that he was a content creator while in another he went shopping for Texas souvenirs, including a cowboy hat and boots. He supplied non-stop fun and even while leaving, he left his mark on the US by adopting a dog and flying it home with him.
New teenage stars are born
It was meant to be teenager Lamine Yamal’s time to shine on the biggest stage. He has, but not as an individualistic wunderkind, but as a cog in the supremely well-oiled Spanish team. However, that doesn’t mean young stars have struggled in a tournament headlined by a 39-year-old Lionel Messi and his eight goals.
Switzerland’s attacking midfielder Johan Manzambi, 20, shone for the Swiss, scoring five goals and pocketing a move to Premier League club Aston Villa. Morocco’s holding midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, outplayed the experienced Brazilian duo of Casemiro and Bruno Guimares in their opening game, piquing the interest of Manchester City and Liverpool.
However, by far the most eye-catching teenager in the tournament has been the Spanish central defender, Pau Cubarsi, who, despite being only 19, hasn’t allowed any striker, including Golden Boot contender Mbappe, a single clear shot at goal. Cubarsi is already a regular for Barcelona, and the demand for his services from Europe’s top clubs is set to rise significantly.
Trump’s phone call to Infantino
Despite pre-tournament misgivings, everything was going great and everyone was actually having a great time both on and off the field. That was till President Trump made a phone call to the “very good man” Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, demanding that the red card shown to US striker Folarin Balogun be overturned. The result? The automatic suspension was rescinded but the red card retained. To do so, FIFA unconvincingly cited the murky Article 27 of its statutes. Meanwhile Trump boasted about his role in it.
This was the opening that angry managers, fans, players and football federations seized upon and let rip their ire and conspiracy theories about FIFA corruption—including doubts over refereeing and favouritism.
Iran, a Somalian referee, and travel bans
The World Cup kicked off under the shadow of the US and Israel’s war against Iran. As if the mistreatment of the Iranian national team, which had qualified fair and square, wasn’t enough, the US government imposed tough conditions on the team before and after their matches, which were all in the US.
Iran, which didn’t lose a single game, were forced to move their training base to Tijuana in Mexico. And the US ensured that the team had to travel from the venue before each game, and were forced to leave within hours of finishing their game, depriving the team the time to prepare or recover properly.
Iran were not the only ones to face immigration problems. A handful of Iraqi and Swiss players were also stopped for questioning at airports while one of FIFA’s top referees, a Somali, was denied entry upon landing on US soil on grounds of “terror links”. Fans from several African nations were denied a chance to cheer for their teams because of President Trump’s travel bans. The most famous victim was Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha’s mother, who wasn’t able to afford the $15,000 refundable deposit for her US visa and hence missed her son’s heroics against Spain.
Cape Verde, the ultimate underdog story
What Cape Verde, an island nation of about half a million people, pulled off in their debut World Cup is exactly the kind of stuff Hollywood hits are made of. A team patched together from the second division and ageing footballers with day jobs, the team was written off from the start. Facing the reigning European champions Spain in their first game, they produced a battling draw.
Then they went on to not lose a single group stage game, and made it to the knockout stages. There, they faced they faced the reigning World champions Argentina led US’s favourite footballer Messi. Vozinha had always dreamt of playing against Messi and Argentina. His dream very nearly ended up becoming a nightmare for Argentina as Cape Verde matched the champions goal for goal, taking the game into extra time. By the time the final whistle went, it was an own goal in the 111th minute of extra time that handed a despairing Argentina victory. Vozinha ended the tournament with Messi’s jersey and millions of new fans while Cape Verde returned home to a hero’s welcome.
Shrenik Avlani is an independent writer and editor.