What do The Athletic’s writers think of the World Cup? ‘The ultimate sporting event’

The men’s World Cup, the biggest global event in sports history (48 teams, 104 matches in 16 cities over more than five weeks), is coming to the U.S., Canada and Mexico in June and July.

The Athletic will cover it like no one else, with reporters at every game and coverage for every level of fandom. If you’re an NFL or baseball fan in North America, wondering how to experience a tournament on home soil, then don’t fear — we’ll have you covered. Only care about how the United States or Canada fare? Don’t worry, our experts will hold your hand and guide you through the dizziness of the tournament.

The men’s World Cup is a tournament that attracts sports fans who might not ordinarily follow soccer all that closely. So in that spirit, we asked some of The Athletic’s writers who cover other sports to share what they are excited about.

Here, Marcus Thompson, Ken Rosenthal, Michael Silver, Chantel Jennings, Bruce Feldman, John Hollinger and Hannah Vanbiber — co-author of our upcoming newsletter, the World Cup Briefing — explain what they are most looking forward to this summer.

Make sure you don’t miss a thing by following the best of our 2026 men’s World Cup coverage here.

What does the World Cup mean to you?

Rosenthal: To me, the World Cup is the ultimate sporting event, the World Series times 10, or even more. I played soccer, was the last man on the bench for the worst high-school team in Long Island — we went years without winning a game. In high school and college, I worked for the New York Cosmos ticket office when the team was in its glory. So, I can’t wait to see the World Cup played in the U.S. Americans unfamiliar with the sport are about to find out why so many call soccer the beautiful game.

Silver: It means five-and-a-half weeks of me, my wife and our three adult children becoming immersed in and obsessed with the greatest men’s sporting event on the planet. Watching soccer’s greatest performers compete for country is a thrill like no other; knowing how much it means — to the competitors, to the fans, to the annals of the sport — makes the experience sublime. This is especially true when a compelling underdog (Croatia in 2018; any African nation, ever) has the potential to capture hearts and minds across the globe.

Feldman: Because soccer was a sport I didn’t play growing up and never followed, the World Cup was barely on my radar till I was in my early 30s living in NYC and would go out to bars with some friends who were soccer fans — and I did like the chants and the camaraderie you felt while watching a game between two countries I had no rooting interest in. I got a little more into it as my son started playing club soccer and I learned more about the game, but I’d be lying if I said I am a big fan of the sport. But I’ve learned to like the sport more and more and usually end up watching all the international tournaments, like I got sucked into Copa America in 2024.

Thompson: It’s an opportunity to dive into the world’s most popular sport, with perhaps the highest stakes in sports, and essentially become more united with the world in this way. The World Cup is sports on PEDs. It has everything that makes sports exceptional and addictive. And as an American, it sometimes feels like we are deprived of the excellence of soccer. Less so now, as modern media affords us more access, but we’re still relative outsiders to the sport in the same way the rest of the world is to the NFL or NBA. So it’s special to be active participants in such a beautiful and dramatic sport.

Hollinger: The best sports tournament on the planet, regardless of the attempts FIFA makes to mess it up. It’s the Olympics meets the NCAA Tournament, where a small country can still have their One Shining Moment even if we know one of the bluebloods will win the whole thing, except instead of once-every-four-year sports like gymnastics or figure skating, it’s the most popular game in the world.

Jennings: Though I wasn’t much of a soccer player, my family became a soccer family when my younger sister got involved and ultimately played in college, and I also married into a soccer family, so I’m surrounded by devoted fans and through osmosis, I’ve soaked up a lot. But for anyone who hasn’t watched (or married into a family full of soccer fans), soccer is the ultimate “become a fan in 90 minutes or less” sport and the World Cup is the beautiful game on its biggest stage — winning a world championship and actually winning a world championship (not that other sport or league would claim such a thing…).

I love the way sports can draw fans in with this kind of revelry and rivalry, and witnessing good competition can instantly make any sports fan invested. Being able to be swept up into that during the World Cup will be unlike anything else.

Vanbiber: I played soccer briefly in middle school and was absolute trash, so I didn’t follow it much until I studied abroad (hold your groans, please!) in the UK during my junior year of college. It was there that I went to my first match and spent downtime in pubs cheering along to the Premier League. A few years later, I moved to NYC in time for the 2014 men’s World Cup, and it was truly magical watching it from a city where nearly every country in the tournament has a massive, built-in fanbase. I ended up pulling for Brazil after the U.S. was out, and I cried when they lost to Germany. Then, a year later, the U.S. women won! And then they won again in 2019! The energy in NYC during those World Cups was unforgettable and unmatched.

The World Cup Briefing, a quick rundown of updates and insights for every fan — every day of the tournament. Sign up here.

What’s the question about soccer that you’ve always wondered and never asked?

Rosenthal: How extra time is calculated!

Silver: Why the hell the powers that be would allow VAR (video assistant referees) to infiltrate the sport in such a comprehensive manner? I can see using it for objective rulings (did the ball cross the goal line?… did it carom off a defender’s hand?), but the overreach is nauseating. Hey, let’s play God and decide whether a full-speed tackle was actually worthy of a PK, or not. Awful. Play on.

Feldman: There’s two things that always bugged me about soccer: all the flopping and stoppage time. At times, some of the injury faking looks like 70s WWF.

I get that there can be a yellow card given out for the faking. I rarely see it in the games I watch. So, why don’t they give out more yellow cards to discourage it? Also, because of all the theatrics, etc, you have this guessing game that goes after 90 minutes. In one sense, I think that ramps up the angst of the game’s ending but we don’t do this in other sports — wait, am I answering my own question?

Thompson: Why can’t players who sub out can’t come back in? It’s more an irritation than a question. I get endurance is a tenet of the sport. But is that still not so if the best can rest for five minutes? With the velocity and intensity, the product would be better if resting were allowed. Stars can be fresher for the waning moments. Or be on the field. Nothing more frustrating than a key player subbing out and now the backup who ends up playing the most critical minutes in overtime. A team’s depth (and thus, roster construction) matters more when players can rest.

Hollinger: Why do they always use their subs on the forwards when the wingbacks are the ones doing all the running? I’ve asked a couple people who actually work in soccer this question and was never totally satisfied with the explanation I heard.

Jennings: If players are going to wear their socks over their knees, why don’t they just wear leggings instead? Feels more convenient in terms of access to the shin guards.

Vanbiber: Dumb question that is honestly my most burning one: How badly does it hurt when they do that victory slide on their knees? And don’t tell me “if the grass is wet enough, it doesn’t hurt.” I just dislocated a kneecap from just thinking about it!

What are you most looking forward to during the World Cup?

Rosenthal: Seeing the event sweep over our nation in city after city. And the reactions of fans from different countries, positive and negative. The emotion is at such a fever pitch, going well beyond what we experience even for a championship even in the U.S.

Silver: Mexico finally making some noise in the knockout round! (Hey, I know it’s not likely… but a Californian can dream.)

Feldman: My son turned me on to Erling Haaland a few years back. He’s my favorite soccer player. There are a few rare athletes who just seem that much more dynamic than everyone else on the field that you can’t take your eyes off them. That’s him. He is a goal-scoring machine. I love watching him play. Since it’s been over a quarter century since Norway has made the World Cup, I’m fired up to see how he and his country do after such a long drought.

Norway’s Erling Haaland could be one of the stars of the World Cup (Terje Pedersen / NTB / AFP via Getty Images)

Thompson: Two things. One, watching the best play when it matters most. You really get to see how good the elite soccer players are in this pressure-cooker of a tournament. Two, discovering some baller that true soccer fans already know. So when I talk to my international friends, I can act like I know something.

Hollinger: Christian Pulisic. A lot has been heaped on him to basically be the savior of American soccer, or at least the guy who drags us up to the level of the better European sides, and while he’s been our best player when healthy, he’s also been injured a lot and, in what should be his prime, hasn’t found the net once in his last 19 games. Can he be The Guy who lifts the U.S. to the top of a winnable group, or is he Just a Guy?

Jennings: Much like college students coming home from study abroad and saying they spent a semester in Barcelona, I much look forward to the Americans spending the next month and a half saying fútbol instead of soccer. But really, I’m just excited to watch soccer with friends and family. My husband has been planning backyard viewing parties for months and there’s a fantastic soccer bar in St. Paul (shout out, Black Hart) that will certainly host some of the best watch parties in the Twin Cities.

Vanbiber: That moment of discovery. Maybe it’s a player you barely knew about who captures your excitement, or an underdog country winning a match and the world’s heart, or just a magnificent play that defies the laws of physics and sends you down a rabbit hole learning everything you can about how soccer works. That’s the magic of sports fandom: Discovering you love something you just learned about, or finding a new surge of passion for something you’ve always loved. There’s nothing like it!

I’m also really looking forward to seeing the phenom that is Lamine Yamal. (Please recover quickly!)

What’s your prediction for how the United States/Canada will fare?

Rosenthal: I have no idea. Don’t follow it closely enough.

Silver: I remember in ‘94 when the host U.S. team made some noise, got to the knockout round and played Brazil tough on the Fourth of July. Thirty-two years’ worth of development later, the Americans should, in theory, be better positioned to reach a higher level. Spoiler alert: They aren’t. Anything can happen, and it’s always a bonus playing at home, but the U.S. team still lacks the type of game-changers that elite soccer nations possess. As for Canada, man it’s going to be tough for them to make a run. However, getting out of the group stage (under the revamped format) is a realistic goal.

Feldman: Group D (the U.S.’ group) is not exactly a gauntlet. There are no powerhouse teams to fear. The USA is 16th in FIFA rankings and their odds with the home support only boost expectations that much more. Getting out of the group stage is a must. I think advancing in the knockout stage is a reasonable hope.

How deep into the World Cup can Christian Pulisic and the U.S. team go? (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

I think Canada will make some noise, winning Group B, which is kinda meh, and get to stay in Vancouver and win another game before the competition ramps up too much.

Thompson: I’m predicting the U.S. men will spark a national conversation, led by embarrassed former soccer players, about what it will take to compete with the best in the world. They’ll either disappoint and not make the knockout rounds, or make it and bump into the ceiling of their talent. Either way, American exceptionalism will be triggered and we will search our souls for why we can’t win the world’s biggest sport. And then most of us will forget about it until it’s time to search our souls again in 2030.

Hollinger: I once had hopes that this generation of players could take the U.S. to a quarterfinal or further; now that seems a more realistic hope for 2030. At this point, I just hope the USA can make it out of the group stage and maybe win once in the knockout round. This ain’t the 2008 squad, it seems, so anything beyond that is gravy. I will add one further hope, that we are not forced to revisit our worst previous World Cup humiliation by playing Iran in the knockout round, which is technically possible.

Jennings: To quote my three-year-old every time we ask about any vegetable: Pwobably, not gweat.

Vanbiber: Putting on my Serious Analyst hat. I predict the USMNT will make it out of the group stage and win the first knockout match.

Putting on my Soccer Fan hat. I predict the USMNT wins a quarterfinal match! And makes it to the semifinals for the first time in the modern World Cup era! Anything can happen when you make it to the knockout stage, folks! God forbid we have a little hope!

What’s your hope for the tournament?

Rosenthal: That it takes the popularity of soccer in our country to another level.

Silver: I mean, the last men’s World Cup was pretty great, so it’s hard to be overly demanding. I would enjoy: VAR having as little an impact as possible; Mexico doing something special; Croatia making one more run; an African nation (or nations) making the quarterfinals, or going even further; no American player doing the ‘Trump Dance’; visitors to the U.S. being treated with grace, kindness and dignity.

Feldman: My hope for the tournament is that we see the best of soccer and the spirit of it, and that we come away from it remembering the soccer and not something else.

Thompson: That some player from an unlikely team becomes an international hero for their nation and a global star. That a really good man with a great story and a sense of purpose has the tournament of his life and goes home with the influence to impact lives.

Hollinger: That no further FIFA humanitarian awards are given out in the course of the tournament, and that we are allowed to enjoy the soccer as much as possible without events in the outside world intruding.

Jennings: As with all sporting events, I’ll go into it with my baseline hope: For good storylines and no injuries. Beyond that, it’d be nice for the games to be decided by the players — and not refs or VAR.

Vanbiber: This is going to sound hopelessly naive, but there is something about these global sporting events that gives the taste, however fleeting, of global unity. Shared celebration. We’re all watching the same matches together, all going through the same feelings of elation and devastation and hope and belief. I hope that this year, despite everything, we reignite that sense of unity.

Oh, also: I hope we see a lot of kneecap-defying victory slides.