Cote: World Cup starts in one week and here are the top six story lines | Opinion
The biggest event in the world is a week away. I’ll not limit that to biggest sports event, because I believe the World Cup is larger than games or goals. It is what, once every four years, wields the power to unite the entire globe in a commonality and shared passion like nothing else can.
The United States is hosting the World Cup for the first time in 32 years along with Canada and Mexico, and Miami — bypassed as a host city in 1994 — will see seven World Cup matches held here for the first time in a monumental hallmark in South Florida’s sports history.
Here are our top six World Cup storylines to watch play out in the coming weeks:
▪ Will this be the year the U.S. team finally shows it can run with the big boys?: American athletes are dominant in plenty of sports. International soccer is not one. The U.S. women do great, but not our guys. Not yet. Maybe now?
U.S. finished third in the very first men’s World Cup in 1930. Since then the only finish beyond the Round of 16 has been reaching the quarterfinals in 2002 before losing to Germany.
A youthful American side reached the Round of 16 in 2022, building hope that ‘26 on home soil could finally be the breakthrough year. But the run-up under splash hire coach Mauricio Pochettino has been less than encouraging, though a recent 3-2 friendly win over a stout Senegal squad was a positive. Christian Pulisic, the AC Milan winger, remains the best U.S. player. But does he have enough help?
Soccer is fully grown as an America sport now, far more so than in 1994 when the U.S. last hosted. Now it’s up to the current team to get past the group-stage vs. Paraguay, Australia and Turkiye (formerly Turkey) at the very least, and then win at least one match in the knockout round to earn the world’s attention.
▪ The (likely) grand stage farewell of Messi and Ronaldo: Inter Miami’s megastar/captain Lionel Messi should be healthy and ready when Argentina begins defense of its 2022 World Cup crown on June 16 vs. Algeria in Kansas City, where Leo and La Albiceleste have been training. Messi had been idled by muscle fatigue in his left hamstring since May 24. His full recovery is anticipated, although, turning 39 during the Cup on June 24, the possibility of aggravating the muscle might be a concern to monitor.
There is a good chance Argentina and Messi will play at least one match in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium. It would be July 3 in the Round of 32 if the club wins Group J as predicted. (The most likely opponent would be Uruguay.) Miami also is hosting the third-place match on July 11, which also could include Argentina.
Messi stands alone as the singular G.O.A.T. of the one global sport; his record eight Ballon d’Or awards (French for Golden Ball) as testimony. So his (likely) farewell on the grandest stage will be this World Cup’s emotional centerpiece. Co-starring in that: Portugal’s great Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi’s generational rival. At 41, this as Ronaldo’s farewell is even likelier as he takes his last shot at winning the one grand prize trophy that has eluded him — with the best team he’s ever had around him.
▪ A needed six-week respite from real-world turmoil: There are a record 48 national teams in this World Cup, and for many or even most it’s a chance for fans back home to try to get lost in soccer and escape the real world for a bit. (Well, except Norway. They’re perfect.)
Iran of course is under military attack from the World Cup host United States and Israel and so its national team is training in Mexico -- but Iran will play its three group-stage games in the U.S., bizarre as that may be. Haiti’s national team qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 52 years, but players had to train abroad as the Caribbean nation is beset by gang control of most of its capital and a humanitarian crisis. The Democratic Republic of Congo has trained in Belgium to avoid ongoing conflicts and severe health outbreaks back home.
Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, France, Senegal, Iraq, Bosnia & Herzegovina ... most anywhere you look across the World Cup roster there is some degree of political, economic or other instability at home. And that includes the three host nations: the U.S. with severe polarization over political divide; cartel violence putting several Mexican states on the U.S. State Department’s do-not-travel advisory; and even Canada in some economic distress (not to mention it can’t win a Stanley Cup).
▪ How on earth will Miami keep the peace on June 27?: Hard Rock Stadium is a major World Cup venue hosting seven matches from June 15 to July 18. Those will include a prestigious quarterfinal on July 11. But the intrigue — and biggest concern by far — will be on June 27 when Colombia faces Portugal.
There are close to 200,000 Colombian residents in the city of Miami and triple that across South Florida, and their passion for soccer is extreme. See those iconic yellow, blue and red colors anywhere you go in Kendall. Alas, that passion turned to chaos at Hard Rock on July 14, 2024 when thousands of fans, most in Colombian colors, breached entryways and stormed ticketless into the stadium for a Copa America final vs. Argentina. Fans jumped security fences, scaled walls and even climbed through overhead ventilation systems to enter.
To prevent a potential deadly stampede, officials temporarily opened the gates, resulting in massive overcrowding in concourses and ticketed fans finding their seats taken. The mayhem delayed the start of the game 1 1/2 hours before a semblance of order was finally restored after dozens of arrests, injuries and ejections. It was a monumental embarrassment for the city of Miami, and preventing anything close to a repeat on June 27 — in a match even bigger for Colombian fans, many priced out of buying tickets — had better be a priority for the city and stadium security.
▪ FIFA’s exorbitant ticket prices and the immigration police: The United States is hosting the World Cup for the first time since 1994, and my how times have changed. Yes, Canada and Mexico are hosting, too, but this is a U.S. World Cup, with 75% of all matches here including the championship in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
And it has been a public-relations challenge to say the least for FIFA, the sport’s international governing body. Beyond-high ticket prices have drawn protests, along with inflated mass-transportation costs in host cities. And the anti-immigration climate and crackdown in the U.S. has seen many would-be visitors hesitant to travel to America for fear of reprisal or even arrest. The threat of ICE presence at stadiums has had a chilling effect.
May the games themselves be the antidote to the apprehension and missteps in the buildup.
▪ The stars, the surprises ... and the winner: The unknown is everything in a World Cup, from whose fans will win the hearts of TV audiences to what nation will ultimately raise sports’ biggest trophy.
If this is a ceremonial goodbye of sorts to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, it is a ceremonial global welcome to the likes of Spain’s 18-year-old wunderkind Lamine Yamal (latest in a long line of “next Messis”) and 25-year-old Erling Haaland of Norway, each in his first World Cup.
The Golden Boot favorites for most goals scored are France’s Kylian Mbappe and England’s Harry Kane. But might Haaland or the ageless Messi go on a magical run?
As for teams to watch, cream rises in international futbol. It’s why only eight nations have won the previous 22 men’s World Cups: Brazil’s five, Germany and Italy with four, Argentina’s three, two apiece for France and Uruguay, and one by Spain and England. Only Italy failed at another try in ‘26.
Cinderellas are rare on this stage. Maybe a Senegal or a Croatia will have a bit of a run, but an upstart reaching even the quarterfinals would be a shock. If your money is on first-time qualifier Curacao (population 158,000), well, good luck to you!
Betting favorite is Spain being tailgated by France, but England brings a strong side to chase its first World Cup trophy in 60 years, and some feel this might finally be the year for Ronaldo and Portugal. Messi and Argentina must not be counted out from becoming the first back-to-back champ since Brazil in 1958 and ‘62. Brazil, too, surely is due, having not won since 2002. Want a sleeping giant? Maybe Germany.
I might lean France, which has two of the top five players in the world in Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele and maybe a third in Michael Olise.
Then again, for purely personal reasons, I will be rooting for the Ivory Coast, but of course by its formal name, Cote d’Ivoire.
