World Cup 2026: A Journey Through Contrasts in the USA

It was quite a contrast touching down in sleepy Kansas City hours after having witnessed the bedlam on the streets of New York when the Knicks won the NBA Finals and Brazil drew with Morocco. But this is a World Cup full of contrasts, from Fifa’s never-ending quest to make a quick buck ($5 a pop for a bottle of water in the media centre) to the warmth shown by locals I’ve encountered in the Big Apple, Kansas City and Dallas. Then there’s the football. It’s been hard to keep up with the volume of matches, but the opening round served up some classics, with DR Congo’s draw against Portugal on the same day as England beat Croatia capping a thrilling first week of action. Let’s hope it continues. Ed Aarons

It took nearly the full opening round, but a US scene that is usually focused on other sports has fully turned its eyes to socc– sorry, I mean football, forgot to code-switch. Fitting, actually, because at times this state of affairs has been awkward, like when the standard “loud men yelling” sports talk shows are forced to reckon with international football being the No 1 talking point and employing nobody that knows the scene. But these are growing pains. The sport is on at bars and delis, it is being discussed at school pickups and on the rides home. It’s beautiful and exactly what so many of us here in the States have been fighting for. Alexander Abnos

In Texas, I have found a state, and perhaps country, where the World Cup means everything and absolutely nothing. I have seen Mexico, Brazil and Colombia followers pack out the bars in Houston’s East Downtown district; I have sat in a stadium in Dallas with more “Ronaldo 7” shirt wearers with local accents than anyone could possibly count. But I have also visited a 5,000-strong (plus elephant) Republican party convention where the tournament had simply not registered, spoken to numerous Uber drivers blissfully unaware of how a soccer competition works and travelled to a town 100 miles from the big city where the World Cup may as well be being contested on another planet. This country is big enough to host a vibrant and fulfilling World Cup; it is simultaneously capable of hosting one that passes entirely unnoticed. Nick Ames

A few days in eternally gridlocked Los Angeles serve as a reminder of the sheer scale of this World Cup. The city spans 44 miles from north to south, eclipsing the distance between the two stadiums furthest apart in Qatar four years ago. Talking of grounds, it is impossible not be impressed by the huge SoFi/Los Angeles Stadium, a spaceship-like arena fit with a teardrop-shaped 1m sq ft canopy designed by American architects. The co-hosts have not hit every note in recent weeks and months, but they sure know how to build best-in-class stadiums. Ben Fisher

Donald Trump’s absence from the US’s opening 4-1 win over Paraguay in LA last week was a surprise, if a pleasant one for Fifa, which feared the inevitable circus surrounding the president would overshadow the launch of the tournament in the US. Trump has kept a low profile throughout the World Cup and it’s been indicated that the catcalls and boos he received when attending game three of the NBA Finals in New York last week may have dissuaded him from attending. If so, then Knicks fans may have done Fifa a favour, although Trump is sure to attend the final in New Jersey, where he is expected to hand over the trophy. Matt Hughes

This ought not to have come as any great surprise and yet the sheer scale of the US has left me open-mouthed. It has mainly been the freeways – miles and miles of them. Also, how the downtown districts of some of the cities I have visited – Tampa, Orlando and Dallas – are a lot of concrete and not a lot of character. There isn’t really any popping out for things on foot. On the subject of size, the mega screen at the visual overload that is the stadium in Dallas, just wow. An immersive cinematic experience as an elite-level football match plays out below. Craziest moment? The tornado warning in Kansas City last Saturday night, which was accompanied by a high-pitched tone from speakers on the streets. For about an hour. Yes, we are going indoors. David Hytner

My first impression of the World Cup? That all you lot showing off because you were at the Azteca can do one. Not that I’m jealous or anything. I’ve been in Atlanta (and Chattanooga). There’s free ice-cream with sprinkles, cookies and/or (let’s face it, and) M&Ms in the press area at the stadium in Atlanta. After South Africa drew with Czechia, their manager, Hugo Broos, complained that this isn’t a football stadium. It seemed to me he had chosen the wrong target: it is. It is also pretty brilliant: a downtown ground you can walk to, not some horrible out-of-town place on a giant, boiling car park and that makes the atmosphere so much better. Oh, and people are lovely. Sid Lowe

Strikers, can’t get enough of these strikers. The first game that got me excited, both for the match and the tournament, was Sweden’s demolition of Tunisia, and the Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres combo. There was just something timeless about it, a new partnership coming together and hitting the ground running on the biggest stage. Two days later and we had that incredible sequence – first Kylian Mbappé, then Erling Haaland, then Lionel Messi – then Harry Kane the following day. After a run of tournaments where the focus was on creative forwards, the big goalgetters are turning up here (sorry, Cristiano) and I love it. Paul MacInnes

The standard of international football has never been higher. Whisper it, but this almost provides justification for expanding the World Cup to its present size. Curaçao caught Germany on the wrong day – just as Scotland did at the last Euros – but otherwise, even supposed minnows are well coached, well prepared and physically impressive. Cape Verde are the obvious example of this. Haiti were hugely competitive against Scotland while Norway’s win over Iraq was closer than the score suggested. Saudi Arabia looked strong too. The level of elite teams against the best World Cup sides of old is open to debate, but the bar has undeniably been raised among the lowest ranked sides in the tournament. No game is a gimme. Ewan Murray

In New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia, where I have covered games, there is no ambience outside the stadiums indicating there is a World Cup going on. On the day South Africa were playing Czechia in Atlanta, what mattered to New Yorkers was the ticker-tape parade of the Knicks after winning their first NBA title in 53 years. New York is truly Knicks country. But the fact that Ecuador, a relatively small country of 18 million people, had more than 60,000 supporters at Philadelphia Stadium for their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Côte d’Ivoire surprised me. It was as if they were playing at home. Osasu Obayiuwana

Following this World Cup has been like cramming a vast multi-layered hyper-textured glisteningly mayonnaised super-sandwich into your mouth with one hand, while a troupe of high speed sous chefs keep adding more and more super-sandwich to the end of it so you never reach or even see the end or imagine it can even exist. We knew it would be relentless in terms of travel and heat, which it turns out are factors in a very hot, very big country. But it has been relentless in other ways too, mainly in the constant and very American assault on the senses. The number of games has been dizzying and utterly moreish. The stadiums have been very good, SoFi the best of its type in the world. The big surprise of America at this World Cup is a good surprise, although less so if you know the place well. Lots of people here also feel enraged by Donald Trump, or want to apologise for the way he acts in office. For all its flaws America remains the most thrillingly omni-cultured nation of immigrants on earth. Even a bloated and compromised Fifa World Cup night just end up showing the best of this place. Barney Ronay

It turns out there were more than 32 worthy qualifiers for each World Cup, though 48 may narrowly be stretching it. Unsurprising how much more enjoyable the idea of the World Cup is when it is almost exclusively a soccer tournament and not being held in capitalistic purgatory. I still can’t work out how to salvage the flow of games and credibility of the matches vis-a-vis past World Cups that did not heave a three-minute pause in each half. Seems like every time a match is hitting its stride, there is a whetting of whistles. Should not become a four-quarter sport. Jeff Rueter

The expanded format has sucked all jeopardy from the opening group games, given third place in eight of the 12 groups goes through to the knockout rounds. Additionally, the uncertainty around the progression threshold – will it be four points and decent goal difference or will three points be enough? – has disempowered the grand tradition of World Cup prognostication. Is that a fair sacrifice to make, if it means fewer dead rubbers at the end of the group stage? Ask again in a week. Jack Snape

The mid-west charm in Kansas City is a reminder that the US is more than what you see on the news. The extreme weather’s tough, though. Last Saturday brought heat and high levels of humidity in the afternoon, then tornado warnings in the evening. It’s quite hard not to eat meat here. It feels like chicken is the vegetarian option. Are people interested in the football? It’s mixed. The USMNT’s opening game was on in our hotel lobby. A group of Americans were watching baseball on another TV and occasionally came over to check the score. But then I’ve just met a Chelsea fan during the Mexico v South Korea game. He knew his football. Jacob Steinberg