Welcome back to MoneyCall, The Athletic’s weekly sports business cheat sheet.Name-dropped today: AJ Dybantsa, Mauricio Pochettino, Alexi Lalas, Rebecca Lowe, Emma Hayes, Serena Williams, Linda Cohn, Caitlin Clark, Jalen Brunson, Harry Kane, Adam Crafton, Bre Singleton and more. Let’s go:Driving the ConversationA new crop of winners at this World CupThese World Cup teams and players are not really here for the money. (To be sure: FIFA is here for the money. TV networks are here for the money. Of course brands are as well. Cities are here for the money vibes.)Players are here for the glory, which can certainly turn into money. See: Cape Verdean goalie Vozinha’s overnight status as a social media influencer with 15.7M+ followers or the players who will earn new contracts from bigger clubs based on WC performance.As Matchday 3 opens later today, the most intriguing new dynamic involves the eight countries that will qualify for the knockout round despite finishing third in their groups, a result of expanding this year’s tournament from 32 teams to 48 (which turns out to have been a thoroughly compelling move by FIFA, despite the doubters).In previous years, these third-place teams’ World Cups would have been over imminently. Now, those eight also-rans will join one of the most prestigious societies in sports: World Cup knockout-round participants. Legends are built on that.• 🚨 Quick housekeeping: Now that we’ve reached the final games of the group stage, our proprietary projection system is a must-have tab open today. (Almost like NYT’s “Election Needle,” but for sports!)Interestingly, making the knockout round isn’t that much of a financial windfall. All 48 teams got $2.5 million each in “prep fees” from FIFA. On top of that:• Teams 33-48 (the ones who don’t make it out of the group stage) get a $10 million participation payment each. Thanks for playing!• Teams 32-17 (make it to the knockout round but lose right away) instead get $12 million payments. The number continues to nudge upward from there.Given FIFA will make an estimated $11 billion, I think making it out of the group stage — even with a larger knockout pool — should be worth more than a mere $2 million extra. (FIFA increased the total payout pool to $871 million, in large part to account for the expanded field.)Fortunately, perhaps, it’s not about the money for the teams, players and fans of those nations squirming in as third-place qualifiers.This fits with the eye-watering, “just don’t look at the receipts” expenses people are dealing with to travel to sites, attend games, buy merch and drink licensed beverages. You saw it Monday night in Philadelphia, with fans singing and dancing during the rain delay, and in New Jersey (slash New York), with fans joyously doing the “Ro!”The World Cup story includes a lot — a lot — of things that are all about the money, but the leap from group stage to knockout for those newly eligible third-place teams, along with the solid 24 who finished first or second? Priceless.