Egypt just did something most of the soccer world didn’t expect. Yasser Ibrahim headed the ball into the net 15 minutes into a Round of 16 clash against defending champions Argentina on July 7, 2026, at Atlanta Stadium. And while billions of eyes were glued to screens worldwide, many of those viewers were also getting their first prolonged exposure to Kraken, FIFA’s Official Crypto Exchange Supporter for the 2026 World Cup.
The goal, assisted by Marwan Attia, gave Egypt an early lead against Lionel Messi’s Argentina. It’s a genuinely remarkable moment for Egyptian football, marking the country’s first advancement into the World Cup knockout stages in recent history.
Crypto’s biggest advertising play yet
Kraken’s partnership with FIFA for the 2026 World Cup represents one of the largest mainstream branding exercises the crypto industry has ever undertaken. The tournament draws cumulative viewership measured in the tens of billions across its run, and matches like Egypt vs. Argentina, featuring a defending champion and a massive upset narrative, are exactly the kind of fixtures that command peak global attention.
Crypto companies have tried the big-stage advertising approach before. During the 2022 Super Bowl, FTX, Crypto.com, and Coinbase all ran splashy ads. Within months, FTX had collapsed spectacularly, and the industry’s reputation took a beating that lasted years.
