The 2026 FIFA World Cup has delivered surprises on and off the pitch. For one, it’s well-known for being an expensive event, brought about via the introduction of dynamic pricing into the world’s sport. But it’s also bringing about a new sense of community, thanks in part to cities like New York offering free watch parties or even school buses to the stadiums disconnected from public transportation. And in addition to the hat tricks and scissor kicks dominating this year’s tournament, there’s one unexpected breakout star: ranch dressing.
As international fans descended on the U.S. for the World Cup, hosted also by Canada and Mexico, ranch dressing emerged as one of the more viral stars of the tournament. Europeans, in particular, have been flooding social media with stunned reactions to the salad dressing.
A Swedish X user posted: “Why did no one tell me ranch sauce is like crack? EUROPE WE NEED RANCH ASAP.” The replies flooded in from Americans incredulous the rest of the world had been living without it—many jumping in to explain the proper ranch canon: It goes on pizza,* wings, fries, vegetables, and, if you’re doing it right, basically everything else.
(*For Italian soccer fans saddened by the fact that their national team didn’t make the tournament for the third consecutive time, ranch came up in the 2021 Amazon documentary All or Nothing: Juventus, when USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie famously horrified Juventus legend Giorgio Chiellini with the concept of ranch on pizza. It was clearly a preview of the culinary diplomacy now playing out at airports across America.)
