The build-up to the World Cup felt like an endless roll call of horror stories. Ticket prices, visa complications and bulletins from the frontline of actual battlefields were rightfully given the coverage they deserved.Soccer, after all, is only “the most important of the least important things,” as Italy’s World Cup finalist manager Arrigo Sacchi wonderfully put it. However, the world’s most popular sport is also an important avenue of escapism for many. While a look at the lighter side of the game is not to take away from the serious issues at hand, which should and will continue to be scrutinized, surely there’s room for admonishment and admiration.Argentina’s Visa CompromiseThe plane carrying Argentina to the World Cup was dedicated to one man. | Luis ROBAYO/AFP/Getty ImagesThe lengths to which some Argentinian fans will go to follow their nation at the World Cup are legendary. However, no amount of remortgaged homes, sold cars or emergency OnlyFans accounts can buy your way past U.S. border control.Amid a wave of rejected visa applications, the Argentine conglomerate Newsan spotted a gap in the market. The first 100 fans who could produce an unsuccessful visa request for the U.S. over the past six months would walk away with a free TV to watch the action unfold from home.“I applied for the visa because we all think this might be [Lionel] Messi’s last World Cup,” Tomás Vageller, 24, told El Economista. “It’s very sad not to be able to see it, but hey, I’m leaving with a gift.”Snake GateSnakes have played an oddly outsized role in this summer’s World Cup. | Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesThere has been a surprising amount of snake chat during this World Cup group stage. Switzerland kickstarted the craze by pretending that they were next to a high concentration of reptiles at their Californian training ground as part of a convoluted inside joke with the Swiss press. The San Diego Jewish Academy, who had given up their facilities to the team, were not impressed.There actually was a venomous snake spotted at Germany’s training base in North Carolina. “We saw a snake yesterday,” captain Joshua Kimmich revealed, “but we were told it was poisonous. If you get bitten, you have to go to the hospital. I don’t think you’d die, but it’s dangerous, at the very least.”When Norway’s Kristian Thorstvedt discovered that his team would be at a base in the same snake zone, he admitted: “I’m not happy at all to hear that.”‘RIP World Cup Trophy Bong’The World Cup trophy’s likeness was adopted in Toronto. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images“In these particular times,” Gianni Infantino mused recently, “we forget how to be happy, how to be joyful.” But not too happy. FIFA felt compelled to sent a cease and desist letter to a family-owned cannabis shop in Toronto which had a marijuana smoking device in the shape of the World Cup trophy on display. The five-page warning accused Cosmic Charlie’s of “advertising, offering for sale and/or selling products bearing the FIFA trademarks.”To avoid any legal wrangling, the two brothers who own the shop promptly filmed themselves destroying the plastic trophy with a pipe sticking out of its head. “Unfortunately it’s RIP World Cup trophy bong,” co-owner Sean Kady told The Athletic, “that one won’t get smoked out of.”In Police ClutchesFIFA weren’t the only ones doing their part in the war on drugs this summer. Colonel Carlos Fredy Alcántara Obregón used the official 2026 World Cup mascots to infiltrate the inner sanctum of a soccer-obsessed suspect in an investigation. “Thanks to the intelligence work carried out by the team, we were able to establish that the person we were about to arrest was a die-hard soccer fan, living and breathing the World Cup fever,” Obregón told the Associated Press with remarkable bluntness.“So we proceeded to disguise my Green Squad personnel as World Cup mascots in order to approach him without arousing suspicion and make the arrest.” The footage of Clutch the Eagle and Maple the Moose frogmarching this unwitting suspect down the street, their police badges swinging from the neck of slightly ruffled costumes after a minor scuffle, is surreal. The only shame was that there was no room for Zayu the Jaguar.Japan’s CountdownHajime Moriyasu had his numbers out against the Netherlands. | Michael Steele/Getty ImagesAs the first half of Japan’s wildly entertaining 2–2 draw with the Netherlands ticked away, the players in blue frantically flashed their gaze around the ground in search of a clock. However, an oddity of the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas is that the enormous 4K screen suspended above the pitch lets the fans know exactly what is going on, but is out of sight for those on the pitch.Japan’s coaching staff had to think on their feet.Substitute Yuito Suzuki explained the scene to Sanspo: “The players couldn’t see the screen above the field and kept asking, ‘What minute is it now?’ So we decided to write it on the board to let them know.”This explains why Hajime Moriyasu was seen frantically flashing whiteboards with “45”, “two” and “three” hurriedly scrawled in red marker. Japan ultimately got its timing just right, snatching a second equalizer with 88 minutes on a clock none of the players could see.Volleyball Postponed for the World CupThe day after Cabo Verde’s seismic stalemate with Spain, the Reis Institute released a “Communicado Oficial” revealing that the match’s goalkeeping hero Vozinha would not be able to attend the annual volleyball contest.“This year, due to reasons entirely beyond the control of the board, the coaching staff, and even the forces of nature... the great Vozinha won't be making an appearance this summer. The reason? He’s off to handle a little commitment called the FIFA World Cup."Vozinha’s mom could theoretically have gone to the beach as she had been unable to make the trip to the U.S. As a citizen of Cabo Verde, Ana Candida Evora would have been forced to pay a refundable $15,000 bond and visa fee to even have a chance of making it Stateside. “I also cried because my mum didn’t manage to be here because of the visa,” Vozinha revealed postmatch. “Because of the money we had to pay for the visa, we didn’t manage to [get it done] on time. I would like her to be here, but I’m also very happy.”In a heartwarming conclusion to this particular story, Evora had her bond waived by the U.S. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. “No mother should miss the chance to see her child make history,” was the explanation provided.Gentle Teasing of the Tartan ArmyThe Tartan Army march to Fenway Park. One of the greatest sights you’ll ever see 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️ pic.twitter.com/UWgFUWnrJI— Ronnie Charters (@STVRonnie) June 14, 2026Everyone has seen the swathes of Scottish fans descending upon Boston like a hoard of beery locusts in tartan. Yet, one of the best nuggets which got lost in the waves of Fenway Park takeovers and record alcohol sales was a scene captured by Redmond Bernhold in the Boston Globe.“In Saturday’s afternoon heat, one patron entered Federal Wine & Spirits in Boston’s Financial District and purchased two bottles of water. The storefront, packed with 15 to 20 Scots, booed her for the purchase.”It’s a Family AffairIt was a memorable week for the Bindons. | Kevin C. Cox/FIFA/Harry How/FIFA/Getty ImagesThere was a lot going on in the 2–2 draw between Iran and New Zealand. From the protests outside the ground to the wonderful match on the pitch and the shocking revelations afterwards, one could be forgiven for overlooking Tyler Bindon’s stoppage-time cameo. However, the four minutes the Kiwi defender spent on the pitch were seismic. Fifteen years earlier, Bindon’s mother Jenny was New Zealand’s first-choice goalkeeper at the Women’s World Cup, a status she also held in 2007.Tyler already had World Cup experience, gatecrashing practice sessions at the 2011 tournament with his mom. But his fleeting appearance against Iran ensured that the Bindons became the first mother-son duo to both feature at a World Cup in the history of the competition.One Hydration Break Too FarSprinkler malfunction at halftime and now there’s a swampy patch in the scoring box pic.twitter.com/E16iYrKN6G— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) June 16, 2026Aside from the infamous MetLife Stadium, there have been remarkably few complaints about the playing surfaces this summer, despite several NFL venues embarking upon the arduous task of switching from turf to grass.Gillette Stadium was one such ground which endured a minor hiccup. The sprinkler system during the halftime interval of Norway’s rout against Iraq spewed out sand rather than water. Perhaps unsurprisingly, no goals were scored at that end of the pitch across the second 45 minutes.Earthquake HaalandHaaland was unfazed by the World Cup pressure. | Justin Setterfield/Getty ImagesErling Haaland scored his first two World Cup goals in the penalty box before the sprinkler malfunctioning. There were some concerns that the seismometer back home was also faulty after the University of Bergen discovered quite how large the ground vibrations were in the Norwegian city after Haaland’s first goal.Erling Haaland can literally move mountains—ever so slightly. | VG/Grafikk NORSARAnnie Jerkins, one of the seismologists at NORSAR which recorded this extreme activity, revealed that such readings haven’t been seen since 2024. Oddly enough, an Ed Sheeran concert was responsible for the comparative peaks on those days.Unlikely Alliances🗣️ “I want to say thank you to Algeria for choosing Lawrence, Kansas.” 🇺🇸 The locals in USA are all getting behind Algeria. 🇩🇿 pic.twitter.com/e2kejLtxjb— Dean Ammi (@AlgerianFooty) June 8, 2026Vladimir Petković is not a character drawn to overt shows of emotion, but even the steely Algeria manager was given goosebumps by the reception of 600 people which greeted his side on its first night in Lawrence, Kans. The Algerian diaspora south of Kansas City intermingled with the local college town population to wholeheartedly embrace their World Cup tenants for the next few weeks. An endearing community between local residents and national teams has been a feature in several different camps. Iran manager Amir Ghalenoei was furious with FIFA’s decree to send his team back to Tijuana on the night of its exciting 2–2 draw with New Zealand, but took comfort from the welcome they would be treated to back in Mexico. “We weren’t homesick at all.”England’s residency in Kansas has also inspired firm bonds, with locals queueing around the training facility to get their favorite Premier League stars to sign their shirts, hats and even the declaration of independence in one instance.READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow