We\u2019re not even two-thirds of the way into the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but the early verdict is in.<\/p>\n
The stadiums are as electric as they are packed. The goals are flying in. Fans from every corner of the globe are mingling, partying together, transforming the downtown areas of cities across the continent into street parties.<\/p>\n
Superstars are scoring at will, seemingly trying to out-do one another with each passing match. The USA won its first two matches and its group with a game to spare. Same for Mexico, with Canada \u2014 the third co-host \u2014 cruising to its first World Cup victory. Some of the smallest nations on earth are holding their own against former champions.<\/p>\n
This has been a spellbinding tournament by any measure possible. And for my money, it might already be the greatest World Cup ever staged.<\/p>\n
(Photo by Jane Gershovich\/ISI Photos\/ISI Photos via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n Recency bias is real, to be sure. The sheer quality of play was probably higher four years ago in Qatar, where the planet\u2019s biggest sporting event took place in the middle of the European season as opposed to after it. The players were fresher. They didn\u2019t travel between matches, with all 64 taking place in or on the outskirts of Doha.\u00a0<\/p>\n That World Cup was also capped by easily the best final of all time, with the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi, finally hoisting the only trophy that had eluded him to cement his GOAT status forever.<\/p>\n There\u2019s still a long way to go at this World Cup. It hasn\u2019t been perfect. Tickets remain unaffordable for many soccer lovers. The mid-half hydration breaks, although necessary either because of blazing temperatures or for the sake of competitive consistency, can disrupt the flow of the game. There have been transportation issues and inconsistent messaging.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yet for all the negativity that surrounded the lead up to the first 48-team World Cup ever played, even the most cynical observers \u2014 if they have eyes \u2014 must know in their hearts that it has been an outstanding event so far.<\/p>\n Most of the critics are awfully quiet now.<\/p>\n The numbers to date are staggering. The group stage this summer has averaged 65,000 fans \u2014 more than 10,000 more than the entirety of Qatar 2022. That figure will only increase when the knockout stage contests begin and bigger venues get the bulk of them, putting the all-time mark of almost 69,000 (set the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994) in jeopardy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Through the first 32 matches at this World Cup, the 16 venues across all three host countries have been filled to more than 99.5 percent of capacity. Despite fears, players have lauded the pristine grass fields, if they\u2019ve mentioned the surfaces at all.<\/p>\n Three goals per game have been scored on average, the most in 23 men’s World Cups. Some of that no doubt has to do with inviting 16 more participating nations than took part at any previous World Cup \u2014 another of the purists\u2019 favorite pre-tourney beefs.<\/p>\n They were wrong about that, too.<\/p>\n Is there a better on-field story than Cape Verde, the tiny West African island nation with a population of about 500,000 and World Cup debutant that remains undefeated despite facing title-favorite Spain and former two-time champ Uruguay in its first two outings?<\/p>\n Is there a better off-field story than Scotland\u2019s fans? The Tartan Army took over Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, and, despite literally drinking the former dry, so endeared themselves to the normally parochial locals \u2014 in part by donating $10,000 to Hasbro Children\u2019s Hospital \u2014 that Massachusetts Senator Paul Feeney proposed that the Scots return to Foxborough for an annual exhibition. Meanwhile, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has petitioned the NFL to play a regular season game at Glasgow\u2019s Hampden Park.<\/p>\n (Photo by Tullio Puglia – FIFA\/FIFA via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n Can Messi lead Argentina to back-to-back titles, something no country has done since Pel\u00e9 managed it with Brazil more than 60 years ago? Or might Portugal become the first new champion in nearly two decades, completing Ronaldo\u2019s trophy case in the process? Lamine Yamal got his first World Cup goal on Sunday; how many more are in store for the 18-year-old before the competition wraps up in the New York area next month?<\/p>\n Come to think of it, it would probably be harder to argue that this isn\u2019t <\/i>the most incredible World Cup ever.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the best part: With almost four weeks left until billions tune in for that grand finale on July 19,\u00a0it\u2019s still just getting started.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY We\u2019re not even two-thirds of the way into the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but the early verdict is in. The stadiums are as electric as they are packed. The goals are flying in. Fans from every corner of the globe are mingling, partying together, transforming the downtown […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5385\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}