MEXICO CITY, June 10 — The World Cup kicks off tomorrow with Fifa betting that the enduring appeal of the greatest footballing show on earth can rise above mounting anger at ticket prices and a US immigration crackdown that has seen fans, a top referee and team officials barred from the tournament.

A record 48 teams and millions of fans are set to descend on the United States, Canada and Mexico for the first World Cup co-hosted by three nations, the largest and most logistically complex edition of the tournament ever staged.

The action gets under way at Mexico City’s iconic Estadio Azteca on Thursday, with co-hosts Mexico taking on South Africa at 1 pm local time launching a sprawling, nearly six-week-long spectacle that will culminate in the final at New Jersey’s 82,500-seat MetLife Stadium on July 19.

Can Lionel Messi, at the age of 38, settle any lingering debate about his status as the greatest player of all time by leading Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup title?

Or can Messi’s great rival, the 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, defy father time by inspiring a talented Portugal team to its maiden World Cup win?

Those questions and more will be answered over the course of a tournament that Gianni Infantino, the president of world football’s governing Fifa, has bullishly hyped as “the greatest show that the planet has ever seen.”

Ticket fury 

Yet Infantino’s breezy assurances have run into hurricane-force headwinds of scepticism during a build-up dogged by concerns over affordability, politics and conflict in the Middle East.

The skyrocketing cost of tickets has triggered a global backlash which has left Fifa and Infantino struggling to mount a convincing public relations defense.

The most expensive ticket for the 2022 World Cup final in Doha cost around US$1,600 at face value; in 2026 the most expensive face value final ticket being sold by Fifa is an eye-watering US$32,970.

That kind of stratospheric inflation has been prevalent across the tournament’s 104 matches, where seats for many games remain available on secondary re-sale markets despite huge demand.

Even Infantino’s staunch ally, Donald Trump, has balked at the cost, reacting with surprise when told of the $1,000 price tag for tickets to the USA’s opening game with Paraguay in Los Angeles on Friday—the first game on US soil.

“I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you,” the US president told the New York Post last month.

Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, who is grappling with teacher protests in Mexico City that threaten to disrupt Thursday’s opener, has meanwhile said she will not attend any games in Mexico.

Exclusion and fear

Other critics have questioned whether the World Cup party will be soured by the tense political climate in the United States.

Human Rights Watch says the Trump administration’s immigration, demonstrations and press freedom could lead to a World Cup defined by “exclusion and fear.”

Those concerns were given a fresh jolt of momentum on Monday when Fifa confirmed that Somali referee Omar Artan would play no part in the tournament after being denied entry to the United States.

Artan was turned back when he arrived at Miami International Airport on Saturday over what US authorities said were “vetting concerns.”

The Somali official was just the latest in a growing list of people who have been barred from entering the United States for what Infantino has billed as the “most inclusive” World Cup in history.

The US-Israel military strikes launched against Iran in February have also loomed large over the tournament, where Iran are due to play three group games in the United States, starting with their opener against New Zealand on Monday.

Iran have switched their base camp from Tucson, Arizona to the Mexican city of Tijuana.

While Iran’s players are free to travel in and out of the United States, some 15 administrative and management staff have been denied visas by US authorities in a move Iranian authorities have condemned as “deliberate and discriminatory treatment.”

Fans have also fallen foul of US immigration policies, with a group of Scotland supporters having their entry permits revoked at the last minute.

Expanded field 

On the field, the decision to expand the tournament to 48 teams—up from 32 in 2022 -- is likely to strip the group stage of any sense of jeopardy.

The tournament will see a range of other innovations.

For the first time in World Cup history, every game will feature cooling breaks in the middle of each half, a measure designed to mitigate the effects of searing heat and humidity expected at many of the tournament’s 16 venues.

Players and referees will need to adjust to several new rules being rolled out at the World Cup, including teams being required to make substitutions inside 10 seconds to prevent time-wasting.

A crackdown on racist abuse will see players risk a red card for covering their mouth with a hand, arm or shirt during a confrontation with an opponent. — AFP

QUITO, June 11 — What’s in a name? A victory foretold or a homage to greatness past?

Across South America, a legion of pint-sized Kylians and Neymars will be following the fortunes of the stars to whom they owe their names when the World Cup kicks off today. 

But in a year’s time, depending on which players shine, expectant parents may be leaning towards Lamine (Yamal, Spain), Ousmane (Dembele, France), Harry (Kane, England) or Vitinha (Portugal).

In Ecuador, which is taking part in its fifth World Cup, the most popular footballers’ names are not those of local stars such as Kendry Paez or Willian Pacho, a two-time Champions League winner with Paris Saint-Germain.

Instead it is Brazil’s all-time record scorer Neymar, playing at his fourth and probably last World Cup, who tops the board, with 3,847 namesakes, the country’s civil registry said yesterday. 

Kylian Mbappe, the wunderkind who led France to victory at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, is second, with over 2,800 children bearing his name, ahead of James (Rodriguez, Colombia’s captain), in third with 2,136 nods.

Argentine and Portuguese greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo also have (their first and last) names writ large in Ecuadoran family history.

The country boasts 1,549 little Lionels, 38 Messis, 178 Cristianos and 1,006 Ronaldos.

In Colombia, the order is reversed, with 836 children named Kylian or Mbappe, ahead of 269 Neymars and 220 Cristianos or Ronaldos, figures from 2022 show.

Neymar unsurprisingly, has also inspired a generation of parents in his homeland, with 2,443 children named after the player who has been an integral part of three World Cup campaigns, according to a 2022 census.

But five-time champions Brazil also have a soft spot for Kylian or Killian, with over 400 bearing his name.

In football-mad Argentina, Lionel had a major moment in 2023, the year after Messi cemented his legacy by leading his country to its third title, but the name has since dipped in popularity.

In Chile, one family made national headlines in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup when it welcomed a newborn named Griezmann Mbappe, after France’s former striker and current star forward respectively.

The young Griezmann found himself in illustrious company: his brother was called James Modric (a mash-up of James Rodriguez and Luka Modric) while his cousins included an Andres Iniesta (legendary former Spain midfielder), a Leonel Messi and a Neymar Ronaldo. — AFP

LOS ANGELES, June 10 — Lionel Messi was set to feature yesterday as reigning champions Argentina played their final warm-up game for a World Cup overshadowed by off-field distractions, as the Somali referee refused entry to the United States said his dream was over.

Messi, edging closer to fitness with the tournament starting tomorrow and Argentina’s first match looming on June 16, began on the substitutes’ bench against Iceland in Alabama.

The legendary attacker, now 38, drove Argentina to their third World Cup crown in Qatar four years ago and is feeling his way back after injuring a hamstring playing for Inter Miami in late May.

Messi has not featured so far in his country’s build-up games but could make an appearance in the Iceland friendly.

Dream ripped away 

The biggest-ever World Cup, taking place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, has been dogged in the lead-up by numerous controversies.

Somali referee Omar Artan said the “biggest dream of my life” had been ripped away after he was turned back at the US border and then dropped from FIFA’s list of referees for the competition.

“I am very, very disappointed,” Artan told The New York Times from Istanbul, where he returned after being refused entry in Miami.

“I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.”

Artan said he was subjected to an 11-hour interview with border officials at Miami International Airport and then taken to a holding cell where he was detained for several further hours before being put on a flight back to Turkey.

“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa,” he added—an assertion confirmed to AFP by a Somali government advisor.

Mexico City protests 

Concerns were rising that the opening match of the World Cup in Mexico City on Thursday could be disrupted by social unrest.

A protest blocked an avenue leading to the Estadio Azteca, where Mexico will face South Africa in the curtainraiser, for hours yesterday. 

As international fans flooded into the three tournament co-host countries, Mexico is grappling with chaotic teacher protests in its capital.

Thousands took part in Tuesday’s demonstration following a week of action that President Claudia Sheinbaum has called a “provocation.”

“As if to say, ‘Look at how bad the situation is in Mexico,’” she told a press conference.

A police blockade prevented the demonstrators from reaching the stadium.

Sheinbaum has said that the opening match was “guaranteed,” though the left-leaning leader again ruled out using police to repress the demonstrations.

Don’t be too honest

With co-hosts the United States preparing for their opener against Paraguay in Los Angeles on Friday, one of their own players warned that they need to improve at football’s dark arts.

Following Saturday’s defeat in a friendly to Germany, coach Mauricio Pochettino urged his men to “learn to play right on the edge of the rules,” and midfielder Cristian Roldan echoed those words at the team’s training camp on Tuesday.

“I think that’s one thing that we can get better at, for sure,” he told AFP.

“I think being a little bit more savvy, understanding that being too honest at times is probably too much of a fault for us.”

When the US beat Paraguay 2-1 in a friendly in November the match ended in a stoppage time brawl. — AFP

The first time U.S. soccer legend Tab Ramos played on a team in the country he had just moved to from Uruguay, Argentina was the reigning champion of the 1978 World Cup and the boy was thrilled that the jersey he was given, the Harrison Rec kit, was orange “like the Dutch one.” Ten minutes in, the coach took him off the field: he was too good to compete with that group. He was 12 years old.

Seguir leyendo

Politics occupies an increasingly oppressive sphere in the United States, and the national team cannot escape it. After two decades of disappointment, the host team of the biggest World Cup in history faces the dual challenge of winning over a tense country and competing successfully on a historically unfavorable stage. Leading the operation is Mauricio Pochettino (Murphy, Argentina; 54), arguably the national team coach with the most complex mission of all.

Seguir leyendo

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 — World Cup fans have spotted a new detail on players’ shirts this year: small sleeve patches that are set to feature in future Topps trading cards, though little has been officially explained about them.

Topps, an American company best known for sports trading cards and sticker albums, is owned by global sports merchandise giant Fanatics.

The patches, which mark milestones such as debuts and past awards, have appeared with minimal acknowledgement from Fifa, The Athletic reported.

“This deal starts only in a few years and will run for several years and various tournaments, but it also includes the first-ever players jersey patch program that will actually kick off at this upcoming Fifa World Cup,” Fifa president Gianni Infantino said in May.

Fanatics chief executive Michael Rubin noted that similar patch programmes had already been introduced across major US sports, including the NFL, NBA and MLB.

The patches are small enough that many viewers may not have noticed them, despite initial online concern they would dominate shirt fronts. Other patches commemorating achievements have also been seen, though neither Fifa nor Fanatics have publicly detailed their use.

According to The Athletic, the Debut patch is worn by players making their first World Cup appearance. A Legacy patch is awarded to those featuring in five or more tournaments, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Manuel Neuer, Luka Modric and Yuto Nagatomo. A Golden Boot patch is given to past top scorers such as Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and James Rodriguez, while a Golden Glove patch recognises goalkeepers named best in tournament editions, among them Neuer, Emiliano Martinez and Thibaut Courtois.

Separately, sleeve patches featuring the 2026 World Cup logo vary by team: gold for past champions such as Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Spain and Uruguay, while other nations wear black or white versions depending on kit colour.

Fanatics declined to comment on the additional patches when approached by The Athletic, while Fifa has not responded to requests for clarification.

KANSAS CITY, June 16 — The whole world is waiting to see Lionel Messi, said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, when the defending champions begin their World Cup campaign against Algeria on Tuesday.

Messi is set to take part in a record sixth World Cup, four years after leading his country to glory in Qatar.

The 38-year-old suffered an injury scare last month when he left Inter Miami’s 6-4 win over Philadelphia with muscle fatigue.

However, he made his return in a supreme 20-minute cameo, including a goal from the penalty spot, off the bench in Argentina’s final warm-up friendly win over Iceland last week.

“Everyone wants to see him out on the pitch, not just Argentinians, because of the impact he has on people,” Scaloni told his pre-match press conference.

“He has always been crucial for us and now he will be even more so. He looks good.”

Centre-back Nicolas Otamendi has been alongside Messi for much of his international career and will take part in his fourth World Cup.

“He’s a competitive animal,” said Otamendi. “He makes you keep trying, he doesn’t let you relax.”

The ex-Manchester City defender added: “We enjoy every moment with him. He is a humble person who enjoys the team gatherings and training sessions.”

Scaloni has had other injury concerns over goalkeeper Emi Martinez and forward Julian Alvarez but both are expected to start in Kansas City.

Argentina lost their opening game to Saudi Arabia in Qatar before going on to win the World Cup for a third time.

“The last World Cup taught us that the opening game isn’t decisive. It’s important, sure, but we have the peace of mind of knowing it doesn’t end there,” added Scaloni.

“We’re about to face a very good team with great players, but we’re in good shape, we’re confident and we’re arriving in good form.”

African sides have already shown the threat they pose in the first ever 48-team World Cup.

Tournament debutants Cape Verde held Spain 0-0 on Monday, while Morocco also secured a 1-1 draw against five-time winners Brazil.

“Algeria is an opponent similar to Morocco. They have great players and a great coach,” said Scaloni.

“The Brazil-Morocco match is a good example of why we can’t be overconfident.

“We’ve already seen with Spain that there are no easy opponents. Those teams have earned their place at the World Cup and Algeria concerns us because they are a great team.” — AFP

The World Cup kicks off this Thursday when Mexico host South Africa at the historic Estadio Azteca, and FIFA has never wished more for the ball to start rolling. Once again, the game and its universal passion call for the rescue of the world or, at least, to bring it some peace of mind. Soccer aspires to serve as the very same unifying force that soothed tensions after World War II, even if the latent, globalized geopolitical tension makes it difficult.

Seguir leyendo