It was supposed to be the biggest World Cup in history: 48 teams, three host nations and a record $9bn in Fifa revenue to more than fill the coffers.
Instead, the 2026 World Cup may be remembered for dodgy calls on the pitch and two men off the pitch: Donald Trump, determined to use the tournament to bolster his image, and Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president who seemed only too willing to bend the game to the whims of a capricious US president.
Put aside the astronomical ticket prices, the punishing transport costs between matches, and the extreme heat. It became clear early on that this would be an imperial World Cup, shaped by an imperial US presidency.
The cloud of corruption and influence-peddling hanging over the current tournament has left some World Cup fans looking back wistfully at the tenure of disgraced former Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who Infantino succeeded.
Blatter wrote on X last week that "football must never become a playground for political power".
