The biggest World Cup of all time (for at least four years) can be easily boiled down to a series of numbers.There were 48 teams, 104 games, 308 goals scored across 16 cities in three different countries. FIFA President Gianni Infantino flew around 70,000 miles across North America in an attempt to be physically present for as many of those matches as possible.But that cold, analytical appraisal overlooks the hot intangible of a tournament that is as much a cultural experience as a sporting one. Sports Illustrated had a team of writers on the ground, soaking up everything that happened off the field as much as the events on the pitch across Canada, Mexico and the United States—and all without a ride in Infantino’s private jet.World Cup Fever Temperature CheckThe crowd got involved during the tournament. | Kohjiro Kinno/Sports IllustratedLos Angeles is a sprawling mess of satellite cities almost entirely detached from one another without any central hub. There’s about as much cohesion as Tunisia’s midfield. Establishing the majority’s stance on any subject is a difficult task, which inherently makes it unsuited to hosting a World Cup. Yet, despite all that, there was a flicker of tournament fever coursing through the few areas of mass congregations in the weeks after it appeared that the U.S. wouldn’t be an embarrassment. Even after that theory was disproved against Belgium, Lionel Messi mania gripped some interest. —Grey Whitebloom (Based in Los Angeles)I’m not surprised the World Cup kind of snuck up on America given that often happens with big events in this country. The hosts doing well helped tremendously, but I was struck seeing USMNT jerseys in random places from gas stations to big box stores. At a number of stadiums in Texas, the amount of neutral locals showing up (particularly in scores of Mexico kits) to watch countries you wouldn’t expect strikes me as a great sign that people really wanted to attend a World Cup in North America, no matter what. —Bryan Fischer (Roaming Texas and Kansas)The fever was nearly as blazing hot as the Miami heat itself. The fans here, especially the hundreds of thousands of Colombia supporters, don’t play. Nothing would stop them from cheering on their teams—or booing Cristiano Ronaldo—even if FIFA’s security team was sure to guard the air vents at Hard Rock Stadium this time around. —Sophia Vesely (Traveling to Miami and Atlanta)The World Cup should age well for Canadian soccer. | Alex Grimm/Getty ImagesBased in Vancouver for most of the tournament, I got to experience one of the only downtown stadiums of the 16 venues. Cordons were put up around BC Place throughout the entire World Cup, allowing fans from every nation—even on non-match nights—to flood the streets. The vibes after Canada’s first-ever World Cup win were unmatched, with red and white smoke and parties long into the night, but the atmosphere that Egypt brought (Mohamed Salah even hit the streets to party!) was pretty incredible. Having the stadium right in the heart of it all and Vancouver’s natural beauty helped a ton. —Ben Steiner (Traveling between Vancouver, Toronto, Seattle, Houston)World Cup fever took a minute to hit New York City. All five boroughs were completely focused on the New York Knicks’ NBA championship run in the early days of the tournament; extraterrestrial life could have landed in Manhattan and the city still would have cared more about the Knicks. But as the days ticked by, everyone’s orange shirts turned into soccer jerseys. Suddenly, you couldn’t go more than one block without seeing fans of every nation imaginable enjoying the city. The entrance to Penn Station looked like a world summit. Every bar hosted World Cup watch parties. The iconic red steps at Times Square were the new home of traveling fans. Even the blinking traffic signs warning of game day congestion were on theme. —Amanda Langell (Based in New York City)In a country like Mexico where soccer is a way of life, World Cup fever was always going to hit roasting temperatures. But as the competition went on and the Mexico national team strung together victories, the co-host as a whole overdosed. For 25 days, the World Cup wasn’t the thing that mattered most in Mexico, it was the only thing that mattered. The Estadio Azteca and its surrounding areas were nothing but chaos in its purest and most beautiful form. The scenes of over a million fans celebrating El Tri’s wins in downtown Mexico City perfectly encapsulate just how the entire country surrendered to the power of this sport and this tournament. Given the limited amount of games the country hosted, it almost felt like Mexico had its own intimate World Cup party going. —Roberto Casillas (Based in Mexico City)Worst MomentGetting into stadiums was often an ordeal. | GERARDO MAGALLON/AFP/Getty ImagesAn evangelical Christian refusing to let go of my hand was a new one. Covering Iran’s games invariably boiled down to reporting on the protests preceding matches. Trudging around SoFi Stadium in search of the action made me feel distressingly like those lawyers who chase after ambulances. With so much spotlight on these outspoken individuals, anyone with a soap box to stand on started flooding towards Iran’s fixtures to get a share of the airwaves. My mistake was approaching one passionate public speaker to ask why he had chosen Belgium vs. Iran as the setting for his sermon. Caleb insisted that he was drawn to “any lost flock” during a conversation conducted entirely while I was locked in his sweaty grip. That was the end of the interview. —G.W.The traffic and parking situation at Arrowhead was a dreadful mess for Argentina’s opener against Algeria. While it was naturally very different from an NFL game where Chiefs fans may have already been at the stadium tailgating for hours before, the combination of FIFA regulations and something clearly not being communicated beforehand led to massive issues before you even got to the gates. I heard of some fans being stuck on buses for hours, fellow media members barely making it to the press tribune in time, and a few folks simply giving up and walking long stretches just to make it to the stadium. —B.F.Having to pay for a simple cheese and tomato sandwich in the press box was unexpected and kind of frustrating. Was this yet another example of FIFA trying to stiff any and all of those somehow involved in the tournament? At least I can take solace in the fact that my $9.18 will be funneled back into the growth of the sport. You’re welcome, youth soccer. —S.V.MetLife Stadium is frequently the subject of criticism. | Al Bello/Getty ImagesI am not a fan of the heat, and I’m even less a fan of suburban NFL stadiums. Good combination, right? When I missed the entrance to NRG Stadium for the round of 16 match between Canada and Morocco and had to walk across the parking lot in the beaming sunshine and at 104°F, I wasn’t the happiest camper, but at least I wore sunscreen. —B.S. It takes a truly absurd amount of time to get to MetLife Stadium, as any resident of New York or New Jersey knows. The venue is in the middle of nowhere, offers about six parking spots and has earned every bit of its horrendous reputation. Just getting to a match on a normal day feels like a Herculean feat, but in the pouring rain? Pure misery. Add in the fact that England and Panama put together one of the worst 45 minutes of soccer to ever exist, and I was ready to pack up and leave at halftime. At least Jude Bellingham made it worth my while in the second half. —A.L.I recognize this is the definition of a champagne problem, but the WiFi at the Media Tribune of the Estadio Azteca sits alongside Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera in the 2026 World Cup dictionary as the definition of unreliable. It was expected, but Mexico City’s already awful traffic only worsened during the infancy of the tournament, with the streets seemingly on the verge of collapse during matchdays. Finally, Iker Casillas barely acknowledging my request to ask him one simple question regarding Guillermo Ochoa’s retirement—cutting me off mid-sentence with a subtle head-shake—wasn’t necessarily a bad moment but rather a humbling one. The legendary Spanish goalkeeper is therefore now uninvited from any future Casillas family reunions. —R.C.Best Moment"Ro!" | Elsa/Getty ImagesIt’s not often you get to live a scene out of Jurassic Park at the World Cup. Around midway through the first half of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s group stage clash with Switzerland, the water in a plastic cup perched on my desk in SoFi’s press box began to ripple. The game was scoreless and almost impressively devoid of any goalmouth action but the legion of Bosnians who had descended upon Inglewood, Calif. were not deterred, leaping up and down in rhythmic unison which caused the entire upper tier of the stadium to shake. —G.W.I was incredibly fortunate as a German-American born in Texas to witness Die Mannschaft score seven in my home state—and delight in the equal euphoria from scores of Curaçao fans when it initially equalized. I witnessed Leonel Messi score both a hat trick and become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer. I was on hand to see England play one of its best games in World Cup history during my lifetime (and likely much, much longer) while also seeing the ageless wonder of Luka Modrić roam the pitch. Having a bird’s eye view of the Viking row after Martin Ødegaard and Erling Haaland notched a historic win for Norway was phenomenal. —B.F. I was more than fortunate to go to three cities where the stadiums were right downtown, allowing fans to take part in pre-game marches. I was able to see mass crowds take over the streets, marching to the stadium to support the United States, Canada, Colombia, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand and more. The most impressive, I do have to say, was Canada’s showing at 10 a.m. local time on a Wednesday in the lead-up to the final group-stage match against Switzerland at BC Place. There were easily more than 7,000 in that group, marching past the Trionda-decorated Science World in Vancouver. —B.S.Neymar Jr will never feature in canary yellow again. | Kaz Photography/Getty ImagesThe 15-minute firework show outside of Mercedes-Benz Stadium following Argentina’s 2–1 comeback win against England was pretty spectacular. Thousands of fans were packed like sardines into the Fan Zone next to Centennial Olympic Park, gawking at the nighttime display. —S.V. As someone who was shamelessly rooting for Brazil to make a deep run this summer, I couldn’t help but marvel at Neymar’s final moments in a yellow shirt. The iconic forward stepped up to the spot and scored a consolation penalty for the Seleção in the dying stages of its round of 16 defeat to Norway, and there was nothing but emotion and respect pouring out from every person in attendance at MetLife Stadium. We didn’t know at the time it would be his last-ever cap for the national team, but his impending retirement announcement came as no surprise. Even though I would have preferred to watch Brazil win, at least I get to say I witnessed a legend’s goodbye. —A.L. As a known Barcelona fan, getting to cover eventual World Cup champion Spain when it defeated Uruguay in Guadalajara and being in the mixed zone next to eight Barça players I’ve spent the better part of the last two years covering week-in and week-out from half a world away felt like a special, full-circle moment—regardless of how the actual match that day threatened set the sport back years. That being said, getting to witness the insanity that was England’s 3–2 win over Mexico in the round of 16 easily takes a cake.The atmosphere at the Azteca long before the game started until the final whistle was unparalleled, bordering on otherworldly, and it was hard not to get emotional at the powerful rendition of the Mexico national anthem. What can you even say about the game itself? It didn’t take long for a collective sense that everyone present was witnessing a piece of World Cup history to take over. It was simply an instant-classic, a magical game overflowing with everything that makes soccer and this tournament great. Unfortunately, I’m painfully aware I’m unlikely to witness a live event that surpasses that experience and—in my case of course—the outcome was ultimately heartbreaking. —R.C.Biggest Surprise of the SummerBosnia and Herzegovina’s clash with Switzerland was packed. | Harry How/Getty ImagesIn the wake of the USMNT’s bleak elimination, condemning all three co-hosts to round of 16 exits, there was the real fear that the fervor for this tournament would fizzle out. That emphatically wasn’t the case. Walking down the Seattle Waterfront a few hours after the U.S. defeat to Belgium, fans of both nations and seemingly every team competing this summer were huddled in a semi-circle playing a street-wide game of keep the ball in the air. Even an ardent cynic would get a little misty eyed. —G.W.The actual quality of play on the pitch became one of the big surprises of the tournament. There felt like an expectation that we would get a World Cup which was overly defensive and reliant on set pieces—even more than usual—but that hasn’t quite been the case. Yes there were a few dour games in the group stages but we’ve mostly gotten banger after banger this World Cup with numerous comebacks in the mix. Plus, the biggest stars in the world have shown up and done work when it comes to scoring goals from open play, which is a very welcome development. —B.F. Having gotten to cover the co-hosts in Seattle, Vancouver and Toronto, it stood out to me how much it felt like the USMNT and Canada had finally arrived on the World Cup stage. For generations, people have supported their heritage nations, but I was spellbound by the sheer numbers that seemed to live and die with the host nations. It gave me plenty of hope for the future of the sport on what, in many ways, is the final frontier for the beautiful game. —B.S. Lumen Field in Seattle was its quintessential electrifying atmosphere, full of Americans. | Kohjiro Kinno/Sports IllustratedThe amount of people willing to spend twice their rent on a ticket to the World Cup will forever baffle me. A World Cup game is one night, but rent is, like, the entire month? They’d probably just say, “No, fútbol is life.” On a separate note, I’ve been surprised that the U.S. men’s national team’s fandom isn’t just all about Christian Pulisic. I saw several supporters donning Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie jerseys, too, and it appeared Folarin Balogun had quickly found his way into every American’s heart. —S.V.I saw six of the biggest nations at the tournament play in person. I’ve been on the ground for Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany and Spain—and by far, the loudest and most impassioned fans belonged to Ecuador. The entirety of MetLife Stadium turned yellow, so much so that you needed a pair of binoculars to find a Germany fan for the group stage clash. Even from up high in the press box, where crowd noise is muffled behind plexiglass, I felt the ground shake when La Tricolor bagged a late winner against Die Mannschaft. The noise was so loud and sudden I (quite embarrassingly) jumped in my seat like I was front row at a horror movie. —A.L.Colombia comfortably dominated Uzbekistan in its opening match of the tournament, but even more impressive was the Colombian invasion of the Estadio Azteca and Mexico City as a whole. Some 10,000 Colombian supporters gathered at the Angel of Independence in Mexico city the night before the game, turning the most iconic avenue in the city into a wide river of yellow shirts. The imposing sea in the stands was something to behold. Mexico had only played the opening game of the World Cup at that point, but as I left the Azteca following Colombia’s tournament debut, I was shocked at the honest realization that Colombian fans easily made the Azteca feel more intimidating for Uzbekistan than what Mexico fans did against South Africa. —R.C.READ THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow