The 2026 FIFA World Cup, spread across the US, Canada, and Mexico, features something unusual: a roster of national team managers who look more like a Champions League coaching carousel than typical international football benches. Carlo Ancelotti is leading Brazil. Thomas Tuchel has England. Mauricio Pochettino is running the US squad.
And while the football world fixates on tactics and trophies, the crypto industry is quietly embedding itself into the tournament’s infrastructure. Kraken was announced as the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the World Cup on June 9, 2026, and blockchain-native platforms like Chiliz and Avalanche are powering fan engagement tools that blur the line between spectatorship and speculation.
A managerial class that rewrites the playbook
Ancelotti, who has won the Champions League multiple times across stints at AC Milan, Real Madrid, and beyond, now commands Brazil’s attacking firepower. Tuchel, another Champions League winner with Chelsea, has taken the reins of an England side perpetually labeled as underperforming. Pochettino, who came agonizingly close to winning the Champions League with Tottenham in 2019, is tasked with guiding the host nation through a 48-team tournament, the first of its kind at a World Cup.
