The World Cup is the biggest show on earth. More than 1.5 billion people worldwide watched Lionel Messi’s Argentina win the 2022 final, making it the most-watched event of any kind globally. This year, 48 teams have travelled to the USA, Canada and Mexico for an expanded tournament which Fifa hopes will be the most spectacular yet.
But ahead of kick-off this week, this year’s World Cup remains shrouded in controversy. Fans have been enraged by vastly inflated prices for tickets, transport and accommodation, and as a result, stadiums for many games are not close to selling out. Fans from some nations will not be able to attend games in the USA because of travel bans brought in by the Trump administration, and the war between the US and Iran – whose national team are scheduled to play in Los Angeles and Seattle – is not yet at an end.
So, will this be the worst World Cup ever? England fan Jon Sopel, The i Paper’s chief football writer Daniel Storey and Tartan Army spokesman Hamish Husbandgive their perspectives.
As a Tottenham Hotspur supporter, it’s not often I feel sorry for Chelsea. Particularly given the circumstances. They had just been crowned inaugural Fifa World Club Cup champions, after beating Paris Saint-Germain 3-0. In that moment, I could not have felt more antipathy towards our West London rivals. But then came the celebrations at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, which seemed to be a vehicle for two non-players who had nothing to do with Chelsea FC.