World Cup 2026: Highlights and Controversies Explored

The last 16 matches of the World Cup 2026 are drawing to a close and the quarter finals will thus be finalised to take place this weekend. This tournament has already brought moments of individual national elation and controversial decisions that have reverberated around the world particularly amongst those who support and follow the game.

Football Supporters:
I was not brought up to watch football or support a specific football team. However, my husband was introduced to the game at the tender age of 4 years old when his Dad took him to watch West Ham play against Leicester City on Boxing Day. His Dad was born in the EastEnd of London and so supporting West Ham “was in the blood”.
Like so many others born into the game my husband can tell you the history of every player of any significance on the pitch in all of these World Cup games.

Football is by far the most popular spectator sport in the UK, both in terms of the number of supporters and attendance.

• Support: Around half of UK adults say they support a football club, far more than any other sport.
• Attendance: English professional football attracts more than 40 million spectators each season across the Premier League and the English Football League.
• Television: Football consistently dominates sports viewing figures, with major tournaments such as the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship attracting audiences of over 20 million in the UK.
  Women’s football is also gradually gaining more and more viewers with England’s historic back-to-back Women’s Euro final being the most watched television moment of 2025 across all TV broadcasters.
• Most of the football supporters in the UK inherit their allegiance through family and local identity, so many support the club associated with the area where they grew up. However, the country’s biggest clubs have nationwide and global fan bases, meaning millions of supporters live far from the club they follow.

The World Cup is, therefore, a really “big deal” here in the UK.

The World Cup:
The FIFA World Cup is one of the most important sporting events in England. Every four years it captures the nation’s attention, bringing together millions of people—including many who don’t usually follow football—to support the England team.

Its importance can be seen in several ways:

• Huge television audiences. England matches routinely attract audiences of 15–25 million viewers, and when England reaches the latter stages, the audience can exceed 20 million.
• National attention. During the tournament, newspapers, television, radio and social media are dominated by World Cup coverage. Many workplaces, schools and pubs organise events around England matches.
• Occasional fans get involved. Millions of people who don’t regularly watch club football will still follow England (or Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland when they qualify). The World Cup becomes a shared national event.
• Cultural significance. England’s victory in the 1966 FIFA World Cup remains one of the defining moments in British sporting history, and each tournament revives hopes of another triumph.

This World Cup has definitely been a shared event in our household. We have been following each game from the onset, predicting the outcome of each match on line either win, lose or draw and predicting who will reach the semi finals and ultimate final from the point it began!
My prediction is that France will win and my outside chance to win is Morocco
My husband is predicting Spain will win and his outside chance is Norway.
By the time this post goes to print the semi finals will be about to begin so let’s see if any of these four teams get this far.

Interestingly France plays Morocco in the quarter finals this weekend so at least one of my teams will be gone. Whilst Spain take on Belgium and Norway play England, which will be interesting for my husband!

You may think that we are not patriotic but neither of us, to be honest think the England squad are good enough to win. Maybe, just maybe we will be proved wrong!

Then, of course, there is the question of the famous “Golden Boot” awarded to the player who scores the most goals throughout the duration of the tournament. My money is definitely on Mbappe but my husband is backing Dembele, also of France.
Currently the competition is between Messi (Argentina)- the senior, Mbappe (France) -the ascendant and Haaland (Norway) -the young pretender!

The World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico:

Holding this year’s World Cup in the above three countries has been somewhat eye opening given that the sport of football, until now, has not been particularly popular in the USA or Canada.

If we were to compare the popularity in the USA and Canada versus England:

Country	Football’s popularity
England	The dominant national sport and by far the most popular spectator sport.
Canada	Popular and growing, but behind ice hockey in cultural significance.
United States	Popular and growing rapidly, but still behind American football, basketball, baseball and ice hockey as a spectator sport.

In contrast football is the most popular sport in Mexico and the country has qualified for every FIFA World Cup since 1994 and has hosted the tournament twice before, in 1970 and again in 1986. In 2026, Mexico has become the first country to host matches at three men’s World Cups.

There is no doubt from what we see and read here in the UK that the USA has dominated this World Cup organisation headed by FIFA’s President Gianni Infantino and none other than President Trump himself.

Hydration Breaks:

The introduction of hydration breaks at this tournament has not been a popular decision this side of the pond and throughout Europe.

FIFA’s December announcement was notable, making it mandatory for a hydration break to take place in each half during all World Cup matches — including those played under closed roofs and in colder climates such as Seattle.

While the need to prioritise the health of players in high temperatures is not contested, it is somewhat obvious, in advance, that not all stadiums will experience high temperatures.

Some, therefore, argue that football matches are being divided from a contest split across two halves into a four-quarter format more readily associated with American sports and, therefore, to suit American advertising companies.

These misgivings were followed three months later by the confirmation that FIFA had given commercial broadcasters the green light to show adverts during the hydration breaks at the World Cup.

The development left many onlookers concluding that as well as player welfare concerns, there were commercial motivations behind FIFA’s decision to unilaterally impose drinks breaks at their showpiece event.

FIFA has argued that its decision to apply drinks breaks across all 104 matches regardless of the local temperature at the time of each match was designed to ensure uniformity and consistency across the tournament.

So even before the tournament started there was a view from abroad that President Trump alongside Infantino were straying away from the traditional rules of the game.

Football originates from Great Britain and the 90-minute structure dates back to the mid-1860s, with the length of each half and the interval regulated under The FA Laws of the Game. 

Needless to say the United States (Fox Sports) is leading the commercial push and is estimated to make between $250 million and $600 million from hydration break commercials alone. This massive windfall is enough to cover more than half of the $485 million fee Fox paid FIFA for the tournament’s broadcasting rights.

The Grand Final Halftime Show:
Normally, the International Football Association Board Laws of the Game state that:
“Players are entitled to a halftime interval not exceeding 15 minutes, and it may be altered only with the referee’s permission.”

For the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium, FIFA has decided to stage the tournament’s first-ever Super Bowl-style halftime show. The musical performance and the time needed to set up and remove the stage are expected to extend halftime to around 25–30 minutes.

This has been controversial because:

Many players, coaches and supporters believe a 30-minute break disrupts players’ rhythm and warm-up routines.

Broadcasters initially complained because FIFA had not confirmed the exact duration, making scheduling difficult. 

Some fans feel it is again importing an American sports tradition into football

And the controversy doesn’t end there……………

The Red Card Rule:

Trumps latest intervention to allow the USA’s key player- Folarin Balogun to take part in the final 16 game against Belgium has exploded across the internet.
Balogun received a red card and was sent off in the last 32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina. The rules state that
Players receiving a red card in the 2026 World Cup will receive a one-match suspension.

This applies to both straight red cards and red cards that are the result of the same player being cautioned twice.

Fifa does hold the right to impose “further sanctions” if it deems it necessary.

So after a telephone call from Trump to Infantino this rule is set aside and Balogun is allowed to play.
Does the President’s interference have no end?

Unfortunately for the USA team there were resounding cheers throughout the stadium that reverberated across the whole of the UK and Europe when Belgium beat the
home side 4 – 1.
My sympathy actually goes to the USA team who had been playing well but came into this game shrouded in controversy brought about by the ultimate person in charge of the USA.

Individual National Elation:

Amongst all this “noise” the players have left their countries behind, trained hard and wearing their national football kit have run out onto every pitch in the hope of securing victory for their watching families, friends and fans both here and back home.

I wanted to pick out my Top Five matches played to date that I have sat and watched in my living room alongside thousands of other fans worldwide that would feature as must-watch replays:

Argentina 3–2 Egypt (Round of 16) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This has to be one of the games of the tournament so far including two legendary footballing Captains both possibly playing in their last ever World Cup tournament -Mo Salah and Lionel Messi.
Egypt led 2-0 until the 79th minute of the game.
With 11 minutes of full time to go Argentina pulled off two goals in 4 minutes (including one by Messi- the Golden Boot senior) before a final third goal was sent into the net at 2 minutes into stoppage time.
This was end-to-end football, superb individual performances, and with a dramatic finish making this an instant classic. 

Mexico 2–3 England (Round of 16)
Held at the world famous Estadio Azteca, home of Mexican football and the first stadium to hold two FIFA World Cup finals, England entered the city after a lengthy deliberation regarding the starting time of the match due to pending storms and having to adapt very quickly to the elevation and 20% less oxygen than normal..
The start time was eventually kept at 6 p.m. local time but then delayed due to storms for 1 hour leaving both teams sitting in their changing rooms.
With over 87,000 seats the roar of the Mexican fans was loud throughout as they cheered their team to hopeful victory in what was set to be one of the biggest heavyweight clashes of the tournament so far.
The England team led by Harry Kane came to win and defy the critics of their last three games. England survived after playing much of the second half with 10 men.
This was high quality, mixed with controversy and palpable tension to the end!

Brazil 1–2 Norway (Round of 16)

This has to be perhaps the tournament’s biggest upset particularly to those who don’t know the name “Erling Haaland” and the now famous “Norwegian Viking Victory Row” at the end of every winning match.
Check it out on the internet, it has been a highlight of this tournament much to the amusement of the American public.

In this game Norway stunned five-time champions Brazil with a heroic defensive display and decisive late goal. The “Cinderella moment of this year’s World Cup”

Argentina 3–2 Cape Verde (Round of 32)

The island nation of Cape Verde with a population of approx 500,000 situated off the West coast of Africa has won everyone’s hearts at this World Cup.
With a 0 – 0 draw against Spain and a 2 -2 draw against Uruguay in the initial table round Cape Verde came into the last 32 with a positive mindset.
Continuing their remarkable fairy-tale run they pushed Argentina all the way. With five goals, relentless attacking football, and a tense finish with the final Argentinian goal coming in the 111th minute of extra time they have earned widespread praise from fans.

Not many football fans would fail to mention their 40 year old goalkeeper Vozinha who has played in the national team for 14 years. When interviewed after their first match against Spain Vozinha with tears in his eyes said “His Mum was unable to come and watch him play in their first match against Spain because she couldn’t afford the visa”.

Cape Verde was among 50 countries whose citizens faced bonds of up to $15,000 to secure a U.S. visa, part of President Donald Trump’s broader crackdown on travellers from countries that officials said had high rates of visa overstays.
The Trump administration last month suspended the requirement for ticket-holders from Cape Verde and four other World Cup nations, but critics said it was too late for many fans.

However House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries stepped in and spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and “asked the State Department to do everything in their power to ensure that Vozinha’s mother can attend Cape Verde’s next match.”
Jeffries said all fees have been waived and travel arrangements are being made to get her to Cape Verde’s next game on Sunday against Uruguay in Miami.
“I thank Secretary Rubio, U.S. State Department officials, the government of Cape Verde and FIFA for working together to make this possible,” Jeffries said.

Final Thoughts:
I do like a fairy tale ending and seeing Vozinha’s Mum in the crowd at his second match definitely touched my heart.
Do you have any views on the tournament so far?
Do you feel, like me, that sporting events should remain free of political interference?