Michael Gregoritsch of Austria celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammate Marcel Sabitzer (right) during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina on Nov. 18, 2025, in Vienna, Austria.Getty ImagesEvery four years, the World Cup becomes one of sport’s ultimate global spectacles — a cultural juggernaut, in fact, that draws more viewers than the Olympics. That scale sits at the heart of a new editorial experiment from Sports Illustrated ahead of this year’s tournament, which has expanded to 48 teams for what will be the largest World Cup ever when it kicks off June 11 in Mexico City.In what the magazine has called one of the most “ambitious” creative projects in its history, Sports Illustrated commissioned dozens of artists from around the world to create a unique cover for every participating nation this year. The magazine’s June issue will spotlight each of those countries and their teams via 48 illustrated digital covers, plus four print covers — all of which have been filtered through the lens of everything from ancient symbolism to national celebrations and folklore-inspired visuals.One such cover imagines the French national team performing inside a Moulin Rouge-style setting, while another depicts Mexico’s players as contemporary warriors. For the American cover, star Christian Pulisic is placed at the center of a fireworks-lit celebration of fans.The World Cup, through the eyes of global artistsSteve Cannella, Sports Illustrated’s editor-in-chief, told Forbes that the magazine “approached this issue as a hybrid of both sports journalism and cultural journalism.“The reporting in this issue is spearheaded by our SI FC editors who bring soccer analysis and insights about each one of the 48 competing teams. To complement that expertise, the artistic execution of this issue illuminates the culture of soccer in each nation – the history, traditions, geography, social institutions and more that tell the story of the World Cup through each nation.”MORE FOR YOUIllustration by Renaud VigourtSports IllustratedThe hope behind this project, as Sports Illustrated creative director Stephen Skalocky tells it, was that the illustrations would capture the sense of community and shared identity that turns the World Cup into something bigger than just a sporting event. “These artists,” he tells Forbes, “have their own direct connection to the culture they’re depicting, making them the best storytellers to communicate that message.”“Our hope was that the illustrations would convey community as the backbone of the World Cup.”