It feels like yesterday when I penned down a post regarding the continental extravaganza that was the Africa Cup of Nations. Thereafter, all eyes were set on the greatest tournament of them all – the FIFA 2026 World Cup summer games which began on 11th June and end this Sunday, 19th July. In many ways, the 2026 World Cup was expected to not only provide world class performance as usual – it was notably historical – for the first time it has featured 48 national teams compared to previous edition (s) of 32. The tournament has also been held in 3 host countries for the first time i.e. the North American territories of Mexico, Canada and USA. Such an inter-countries hosting can bring about potential logistical quagmire if not well organized. A total of 104 matches were to be played showcasing tournament all-time favourites such as France, Argentina, Spain and England while introducing debutants such as Curacao, Cape Verde and Jordan out on a mission to raise their national flags in leaps and bounds.
With 102 games played as of today, I reflect on some of my most outstanding moments. That I have watched at least 75% of the games means there were many hours of otherwise regular sleep time vested given the huge time zone differences. Whether it was a good decision to give away that many hours is subject to debate. As one of the official broadcasters SuperSport has been saying, ‘everything can wait’. Because the world cup comes every 4 years and unlike continental tournaments, which I also enjoy very much, it allows us to interact with a good proportion of top league players across the world. For a person who doesn’t really follow club football, The World Cup has always been the place to experience these top ranked talents every 4 years – so you can imagine why vesting many hours in slightly over a month doesn’t feel wasteful. But more than that – and as is the expectation – every fixture presents a learning environment and opportunity to dig deeper into the history and politics behind nations – in one way or the other. You also get to appreciate individual players’ journey – and get a glimpse of what team sport mean to a nation’s pride.
Little Cape Verde gives tournament giants a run for their money
Until this tournament (I must confess), I did not know of countries like Curacao, for example, and little about Cape Verde except the fact that it is a small country to the Western side of our continent. Hence it was good to learn a few things about them – and their fighting spirit if pitch performances are anything to go by. Never judge a book by its cover could not be better explained than seeing it through the match between Cape Verde vs Spain and later vs Argentina for example. That Cape Verde managed to hold the top two FIFA ranked nations winless within the regulated time was a surprise. No predictions could have had these outcomes right, not even the football pundits. Cape Verde was eventually knocked out by Argentina in a thriller battle, but it left indelible memories that no walls of fame can erase. From a tourism perspective, I believe that this little country with a population of roughly 500,000 might also reap from their debut at this year’s tournament – talk of phenomenal advertisement cum no regrets investment when a country sends out it’s squad as the number one ambassador. Such are the kind of success stories that can only be birthed in big stages like the World Cup. At the time of writing this post, information online has it that Cape Verde’s impressive 40-year-old goalkeeper, Vozinha, might be getting a sign-up by a club in the USA following his outstanding saves at the World Cup. “USA is not a big footballing nation so nothing fancy about playing there” might be the kind of reactions we get. But guess what, the world’s GOAT and billionaire athlete Lionel Messi plays in Miami. And if the US group stage matches were anything to go by – I personally think that their players’ lighting speed will be a force to reckon with in future tournaments should the country continue investing in football as they do the more traditionally US followed sports such as American football (NFL) and Basketball (NBA). Beside Vozinha, there are many other stories of new talent being scouted or poached following their tournament performances.
World Cup meets information era cum content flooding – good or bad?
Unlike previous editions where I was too young to properly follow matches or had limited outlets from which to access information, the 2026 World Cup has happened in what I would call a truly expansive information era. Not that the 2022 tournament didn’t, not sure why I was not as vested at the time. I remember being quite proactive in 2018. This year’s edition is at a time when there is more than enough information available at the click of a button – talk of pre/post-match analysis, to AI generated clips or documentaries that bring viewers/readers up to speed with the (human) story behind each athlete and game. In short, a fan has pretty much good background knowledge to decide if/how to rally behind their preferred teams. But too much information readily available also means more cases of misinformation or disinformation. You can bump into content that is fake and intended to spread propaganda or fuel hate towards certain. And there are cases where legit images seem to be deepfakes because it is difficult to gauge what is right or not today. For example, I bumped on an image where Spanish teenage superstar Lamine Yamal (then a 5-month-old baby) is carried/being bathed by the global superstar and legendary player Lionel Messi. The pictures give the impression of a son-father banter aimed to gain public attention ahead of the big finale clash between Spain and Argentina. It was resounding to realize that these photos, originally shared by Lamine’s father in 2024, are real and were shot as part of a UNICEF charity campaign in 2007 in partnership with a Spanish sports media outlet. Lamine’s parents had entered and won a raffle to have their then toddler participate in a photoshoot with Barcelona’s players. Who would have thought about a Messi (then 20 years old and described by the photographer as shy and had never held a baby)-Yamal coincidence nearly 19 years later? I first heard about Lamine by chance through an 8-year-old who follows him closely as do many other Gen Alphas and Zs. I kept wondering whether this was another Youtube sensation like I Show Speed and why he’d been featured in Coca Cola billboards a few weeks leading up to the World Cup tournament. At the time, I was more familiar with brands like Kylian Mbappe, Leonel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr, Harry Kane, Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Achraf Hakimi. I knew very little about the likes of Erling Haaland, Vinny Jr and other young stars we have come to love or appreciate thanks to this tournament. So yes – World Cup season is an opportunity to not only experience the crème de la crème but have an idea of the multimillion signings that are now the current top fleet players.
The human-side of athletes, are the nerve-wrecking investments worth it?
Sometimes we question why elite sports are such a big business empire or why so much money would be invested in a single human-being and the extent to which even some clubs go as far as insuring the player’s most coveted assets – the foot. That is because from a fan lens, we do not necessarily see the bravery that a player puts on to excel in 90 minutes + each time. They basically let go of moral fear and throw their bodies out there to face opponents in the hopes that they can properly carry the dreams and hopes of their nations through the tournament and emerge victors. For example, one of the main injuries of this tournament occurred when Canada’s midfielder Ismael Kone suffered a major injury in a group match against Qatar. He underwent a surgery with reports indicating that it will take several months to fully recover. For spectator, this may sound like just another football injury because the society has normalized it, right? To a player, however, I think these moments are some of their most dreadful career nightmares, because history also has it that there are players who have had to let go or slow down their careers after suffering life changing injuries meaning. A physically fit body being a players’ most important asset – it goes without doubt that injury prospects influence if and how a player chooses to face an opponent, especially in games where the squad is generally known for too much physically or fouls. While from a fan lens we might think that a top-ranked player is performing below expectation in certain games, truth is there will always be underlying factors that affect how individuals show up. This goes to say that even as we criticize how our national teams’ performances as disgraceful, shambolic and many other terms I have seen online – we have to learn how to do it in a respectful manner – because these are human beings like who sacrifice their own lives on the pitch to treat us to the kind of entertainment we often feel entitled to. Take for example what an excruciating injury could do in a severe head-on.
A finale orchestrated by History – Yamal vs Messi Clash
Credit: CBS Sports Golazo
As we gear up for the finale game, I am glad to have witnessed yet another World Cup tournament. There have been low and high moments, I still cannot believe that tournament number one favourites France were knocked out at the Semi-final, or that African giants Senegal bottled up a 2-0 lead in under 5 minutes, or that nearly all of the 9 African countries who qualified for the round of 32 ended up losing games in which they could have won. And that England will not be getting anywhere close to the World Cup final when it seemed so close in under 5 minutes to regulated time during its semi-final game. Talk of split-second heart breaks and failed haramball – football spectating can kill by the way – consume with an open mind. Finally, who will forget Norway’s Viking row? Their fans simply brought on a magical cheering tradition that might live on the stadiums for a while.
And for the Spain-Argentina, or if you like Yamal-Messi aka ‘Son-Father’ champions clash on Sunday, may the best team of the pitch win! Because it is difficult having to choose between the outgoing legend and possibly the current/next generation’s legend.