Twenty days. That's all that separates us from the most expanded, most complicated, most expensive World Cup in history — and it's arriving whether the host cities are ready or not.
Boston sits near the top of the list of fraught preparations. Streamlined fan fests, extortionate train tickets, fights over street closures. The clock is running down and the city still looks like it's trying to find its boots.
The last dance for Messi and Ronaldo
Lionel Messi turns 39 during the tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo turned 41 in February. This is almost certainly it for both of them on the world stage — which is exactly why FIFA made sure Ronaldo would actually be there.
Ronaldo picked up a red card for elbowing an opponent in Portugal's penultimate qualifier. That's normally a three-game ban. FIFA deferred two of those games to a one-year probation. A "rare decision" that had absolutely nothing to do with keeping one of the sport's biggest commercial draws available for the opening rounds. Nothing at all.
Then there's Neymar. Brazil's all-time leading scorer received a surprise call-up from new coach Carlo Ancelotti, and pulled his calf two days later. His road back from Saudi Arabia through Santos and into this squad was already a stretch. Now it's a gamble.
Who fills the vacuum they leave behind?
Kylian Mbappé already has 12 World Cup goals at 27. Miroslav Klose's all-time record of 16 is genuinely within reach this summer. If Mbappé hits that at Gillette Stadium, the record books will need updating before the quarterfinals.
But Mbappé isn't the only one with a claim on the next era. Ousmane Dembélé won the 2025 Ballon d'Or. Lamine Yamal is 18 and already looks like he belongs in a different tier. The post-Messi, post-Ronaldo world isn't a wasteland — it's a fight, and this tournament will settle at least part of the argument.
Norway's Erling Haaland enters as arguably the most lethal goalscorer on the planet, with Martin Ødegaard pulling strings behind him. A deep Norwegian run looked fanciful three years ago. It doesn't anymore — and Haaland at top scorer odds is not a bad place to start for anyone building a futures card.
- Debutants to watch: Curaçao, Cape Verde, Jordan, and Uzbekistan all make their World Cup bows — four first-timers in one tournament, compared to four across the previous three combined.
- Morocco's villain arc: The 2022 semifinalists enter 2026 after the Confederation of African Football retroactively awarded them the Africa Cup of Nations title following a disputed final against Senegal — a decision being appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. They've gone from underdogs to controversial champions in the span of one ruling.
- Iran's visa situation: Iranian players were in Turkey this week applying for US visas at the embassy in Ankara. FIFA insists they'll be there. Washington has been less certain. All three of Iran's group games are on US soil.
- Haiti's moment: Their first World Cup since 1974, opening against Scotland in Foxborough on June 13. They qualified through neutral-site games due to the country's political crisis. Melrose High graduate Frantzdy Pierrot made the squad.
- The format: 48 teams, 12 groups of four, top two from each group advance plus the eight best third-place finishers — forming a 32-team knockout bracket. Simpler than it sounds.
The ticket prices alone deserve a paragraph. The cheapest available group-stage ticket at Gillette on Ticketmaster as of this week: $794 to watch Scotland against Morocco. Before transport. Before a hotel. A World Cup in person in 2026 is a financial commitment that most fans can't make, and that shapes everything about the atmosphere these host cities will actually generate.
"Boston Stadium" — as Gillette will be known once FIFA's branding rules kick in — hosts France and England among others. Both will be fancied for deep runs. France chasing a third title. England still waiting on their first since 1966, having reached the Euros final twice and walked away empty-handed both times.
The United States, meanwhile, is hosting a World Cup while still unable to reliably beat its own continental rivals. Two Gold Cup failures since 2022 — losing to Panama in the semis in 2023, losing to Mexico in the final in 2025 — don't inspire confidence. Mauricio Pochettino has the credentials. The squad has talent. The group — Paraguay, Australia, Turkey — is winnable. But "should get out of the group" is a low bar for a host nation.
The 1994 World Cup on this soil launched MLS and reset American soccer's trajectory. What this one leaves behind is genuinely unclear. The preparations have been messy, the prices are punishing, and the geopolitical complications are real. The football itself will sort most of that out — it usually does.
Shakira, Madonna, BTS, and Muppet characters at the World Cup Final halftime show on July 19. Curated by Chris Martin, whatever that means. At least the football will be better than the interval entertainment.
