A Very Different World Cup

It’s World Cup time, people! The kickoff is in Mexico City, where Mexico will face South Africa. So settle in for more than a month of drama and heartbreak and joy — and hopefully not too much politics.

This tournament is unusual in multiple ways. It’s being hosted across three countries. Forty-eight teams have qualified to compete, more than ever before. (Just don’t tell the Italians that this was the easiest World Cup ever to qualify for.) It’s also the first time in the tournament’s nearly 100-year-history that a host nation is actively at war with one of the participating nations.

I spoke to my colleague Tariq Panja, who has been to six World Cups (four of them as a journalist, and two of them as an England fan). I asked him what to expect from his seventh tournament.

3 hosts, 48 countries, 1 very unusual tournament

So, Tariq. It’s happening. The World Cup is starting tonight. You’re there. What’s the vibe like in Mexico?

Not what I had expected, honestly. Mexico gets the honor of hosting the opening game, but it’s ultimately a very junior partner in this World Cup, as is Canada. The knockout part of the tournament, which will get the most eyes, is almost entirely going to be played in the U.S. And you can kind of feel that here. You see billboards, you see signage — but you don’t really feel that emotion, that special atmosphere of the world being in Mexico.

The U.S. is where all the action is, but do Americans get what they call, um, soccer?

I’d say increasingly they do. This is actually the second World Cup held in the U.S. — the first one was in 1994, a time when it was almost universally agreed that America didn’t “get” football. Will this World Cup convert tens of millions of Americans into football fans? I doubt it. But FIFA would love nothing more. The U.S. is the biggest market in the world.

Money aside, the World Cup is special. Why is that?

The World Cup has an emotional pitch that rises above any other international sporting event. It’s the world’s most popular sport, it’s a massive platform and all of that fervor comes out.

For me, the most exciting part is right at the start, when all the fans arrive, full of excitement, full of hope, with their dreams still intact. They bring color; they bring songs. One of the best experiences that you can have at the World Cup is not at a stadium, but at an airport, or a railway station, because you have people from everywhere crossing paths, sharing notes, swapping jerseys. It’s a wonderful joining of humanity.

What are you most excited about this year when it comes to the football itself?

There are so many story lines. It’s Lionel Messi’s last World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo’s, too — the man is in his 40s and somehow still playing. Luka Modric is coming in one last time for Croatia. And we have the up-and-coming players who might be the next generation of stars. Lamine Yamal, who plays for Spain, is someone to watch. He’s got a migrant background and is not afraid to talk about it; he got a lot of attention when he raised the Palestinian flag at Barcelona’s La Liga title celebrations recently. But it’s the magic in his feet that catches people’s attention more than anything — his fearless play.

OK, let’s talk politics for a moment. You’ve been hanging out with the Iranian team, and we have a whole newsletter coming out about that next week. Besides Iran, how are the politics of the day playing out this year?

So, Iran is of course the big one. But you also have the Trump administration’s immigration and travel ban policies, and its general posture toward the outside world.

World Cup hosts typically want to welcome the world. But this time, the host has said: “You know what? We’d rather some of you don’t come.” Several countries that qualified for the World Cup have fans who are facing partial or total travel bans. Haiti and Iran face full bans. Ivory Coast and Senegal face partial restrictions. And just this week, an official FIFA referee from Somalia arrived in Miami, was questioned for 11 hours, put in a holding cell and then kicked out of the country. He told The New York Times that his dreams have been crushed.

Politics might be hard to escape in the coming weeks. But for now, any best guesses on who might win the cup?

If you push me, I think there’s a high likelihood of France and/or Spain making it to the final. France could probably send three World Cup teams, and they could all reach the final. That’s how loaded they are with talent.

But the World Cup is also about surprises. Morocco was the first African country to make it to the semifinals four years ago, but they might not even be the best team from Africa. They were beaten at home last year by Senegal. Ecuador flew through qualifying. And then there’s Norway: They haven’t been at the World Cup since 1998, but they won all eight of their qualification matches and have one of the goal-scoring superstars of this generation in Erling Haaland.

Is there a game you’re most looking forward to?

Brazil against Scotland in Miami. Miami is full of Latin Americans who will be rooting for Brazil. There are so many Brazilians living there. Scotland hasn’t qualified for a World Cup since 1998. And Scottish fans are the most incredible group to follow. They drink whichever city they’re in dry, but they do so humorously, and they’re known to be so popular with locals that when they leave, there is often a longing for them to return. Put those Scots in their dark blue shirts together with those Brazilians in the canary yellow, and you have a classic World Cup match.

Follow all our World Cup coverage here.

Join the conversation and comment here.

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