Spain's Rodri lifts the World Cup trophy alongside teammates as they celebrate winning the World Cup as U.S. President Donald Trump applauds alongside.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The summit clash of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was a cagey affair with a solitary goal in 120 minutes of play. It was a sorry departure from the rest of the tournament, which averaged 2.96 goals per game – the highest since 1970. Argentina became the first finalist to have zero shots on target in 90 minutes, while Spain absorbed the pressure — and its share of crunching tackles — to systematically wear them down, until the killer blow of Ferran Torres’s goal in extra time. For those of us who had to sit up late into the night ahead of a working Monday, it wasn’t the most fitting finale, but ultimately Spain, the tournament’s best team, deservedly won.Since Spain lifted the trophy, though, the post-tournament developments haven’t been great for the sport. First, a handful of Argentina players and staff are being penalised for unsporting behaviour after the final whistle, having come to blows with Spanish players in an altercation. The next set of controversies was political. As we reported earlier, FIFA came under immense scrutiny during the tournament for acquiescing to co-host U.S.’s demands involving a range of issues including visa restrictions and even the overturning of a player’s suspension. The U.S. Congress has called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to appear before it over his expanding financial and political ties to President Donald Trump and his family.Infantino’s problems did not end there. In the run-up to this, he had already released a scathing attack on “critics” of the World Cup, accusing them of “spreading hate.” Then, after he proposed a multibillion-dollar privatisation of FIFA’s commercial operations, the backlash against him grew louder still, with European countries agreeing to boycott all FIFA competitions if the plan to sell parts of the World Cup to private investors goes through. His popularity has never been lower among associations, pundits and fans.These are matters that draw us away from the sporting action itself, no matter how entertaining the matches may be. The future of FIFA and the World Cup is now up in the air, and one can only hope that good sense prevails, and that football is treated as a sport rather than a commercial product. It may be a grim note to end this newsletter series for this World Cup, but we hope you, dear reader, enjoyed our coverage as much as you did the action on your screens. It’s been a privilege following this World Cup with you, see you at the next one! Published - July 31, 2026 03:42 pm IST
