Will the FIFA World Cup ever be the same again?
Some of it was undeniably good.
Viva Espana! Spain didn’t lose a single match and dominated all their games, including the final, and thoroughly deserved to be champions of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with sublime players such as Lamine Yamal, Rodri, Pedri, Pedro Porro and Cuccurella dominating possession despite the challenge from a very physical Argentina led by the legendary Lionel Messi.
Even the semi-finals were played by thoroughly deserving teams who were expected to be in the last four – Spain, Argentina, England and France. England won third place – their best finish since winning the Cup in 1966 – with a scintillating display against France. France – considered favorites to clinch the trophy at the start of the tournament – were unable to move into the next gear from the quarter-finals, which cost them. Nonetheless, France’s Kylian Mbappe clinched his second consecutive Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals.
And who can forget the heroics of Cape Verde with a population of all of half a million, forcing draws against eventual winner Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in the group stage, and then nearly causing a huge upset in the round of 32 by pushing Argentina all the way before losing 3-2 in extra time. Cape Verde’s Vozinha at 40 wasn’t young but was arguably the best goalkeeper of the tournament and gained 29.2 million Instagram followers.
While on Instagram, Norway striker Erling Haaland - who played a key role in the Scandinavian country reaching the quarter-finals – gained 32.1 million followers. Haaland scored seven goals and tied with England’s Jude Bellingham for being the third top-scorer behind Mbappe and Messi. The tournament also elevated Haaland’s global profile as AI-generated videos depicted him as a Viking.
Kudos too to Japan, Egypt and Morocco and others for showing the rest of the world is fast closing the skills gap with the European and South American powerhouses, as more countries got to showcase their skills with the expanded 48-team format to throw up new stars.
Also making us question if the World Cup will be the same going ahead are some new practices.
Hydration breaks, pricey tickets
For instance, the hydration breaks in between the halves for players to quench their thirst may continue due to global warming, although the game becomes longer. The breaks also allow managers more opportunities to adjust tactics during the game.
Time for entertainment during half-time at the finals went only slightly beyond the usual 15-minute break as celebrities like Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber and BTS gave mini-performances.
Meanwhile, there is increasing concern about pricey World Cup tickets and whether that will be the new norm – being priced as a luxury item. FIFA president Gianni Infantino justified the pricing and insisted that tickets to the tournament – which in some cases have topped US$30,000 (S$38,600) – had been priced appropriately, citing a small number of US$60 tickets that were made available in response to criticism.
Such broader issues aside, the World Cup has also made the news for the wrong reasons, especially the refereeing.
VAR issues, Reversible decisions
One of the goals of the tournament – by Egypt’s Mostafa Ziko’s against Argentina in the 58th minute – was disallowed by what VAR deemed a foul earlier at the other end of the field. In this case, the referee waited until after Mostafa had run 100 yards to the other end to score the goal to declare the foul.
Another key highlight was reversible decisions.
In a breach of the game’s rules, FIFA decided to allow America’s star striker, Folarin Balogun, to play in the match against Belgium despite having been sent off in the previous game against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
FIFA hasn’t commented, but media reports suggest that President Trump made three calls to the international governing body for football to request that the red card be overturned. Despite FIFA and Trump, the footballing gods probably meted out their own justice as Belgium beat the US 4-1.
FIFA President Infantino may already face flak from European lawmakers for rescinding Balogun’s red card, but it may not end there. He has also been seen as currying favour with Trump by awarding him the “FIFA Peace Prize” and possibly breaching political neutrality rules. And let’s not even go towards how the US treated the Iran team amid the war in the Middle East.
But hey, as we find that decisions, video assistant referee (VAR) checks, and goals are subjective and reversible at any time, has refereeing become much easier?
Perhaps, I should apply. With those rather minimal requirements, I’m somewhat confident of doing the job!
