This story appeared in Today, Explained, a daily newsletter that helps you understand the most compelling news and stories of the day. Subscribe here.
When I was 10, my dearest wish was to become Mia Hamm. Decades have passed, and I write a newsletter, so you can see what all became of that.
Still, when the FIFA World Cup rolls around, I dust off my seldom-used soccer knowledge and check which local bars are streaming matches. The tournament is the largest, most-watched single-sport event in the world — a cultural, economic, and geopolitical phenomenon with ripples far beyond mere athletics. And this year’s tournament, hosted jointly by the US, Mexico, and Canada, has been especially bedeviled by questions of accessibility, safety, and fairness.
This morning, we’re previewing some of the players, teams, issues, and controversies that could define this year’s tournament, which kicks off at 3 pm ET, when Mexico plays South Africa. (The first American game will be tomorrow, June 12, when the US team plays Paraguay in Los Angeles.)
Today, Explained
Understand the world with a daily explainer, plus the most compelling stories of the day.
Iran versus the US: Geopolitical rivals regularly meet on the soccer field, but this World Cup marks the first time that a host nation has been at all-out war with a participating team. Iran’s tournament is already off to a rocky start. The team relocated its “base camp” from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, at FIFA’s suggestion. But Iran’s national football federation said the US still denied visas to 14 of its staff members and that FIFA revoked the tickets allocated for Iranian fans.
The Trump factor: Iranians aren’t the only ones facing problems at the border. In the past week, US officials have also turned back a beloved Somali referee, detained and questioned a star player for the Iraqi team, and denied entry to journalists from Middle Eastern and African countries. President Donald Trump’s travel ban also explicitly prevents citizens from four qualifying countries — Haiti, Iran, Senegal, and Ivory Coast — from visiting the US.
Sticker shock: Tournament organizers initially predicted that group-stage tickets would cost between $21 and $323 apiece. In fact, ticket prices for some games have ballooned to more than $1,000 for even the cheapest seats. Those unexpectedly high costs raise the unpleasant possibility that some games won’t sell out and some host cities won’t recoup their considerable investment. New York and New Jersey have already opened an investigation.
The next Messi? Eighteen-year-old Lamine Yamal is widely considered one of the best players in the world. The Spanish superstar debuted for FC Barcelona at only 15 years old, and he’s since gone on to break all sorts of European records. This will, however, be his first World Cup, and his performance could make him a household name on par with Cristiano Ronaldo; Kylian Mbappé; and, yes, Lionel Messi, who, oddly and very randomly, posed with Yamal for a charity calendar when Yamal was a baby.
Strange stadium-fellows: Each of the 48 national teams is staying in a “base camp” for the duration of the tournament — in most cases, a large US city or college town with both a major airport and a large stadium for practices. Some host communities have really rolled out the welcome wagon: Fans in Lawrence, Kansas, waited hours in the rain to greet the Algerian team, whose rallying cry is also emblazoned on new banners around downtown.
The climate question: The US, Canada, and Mexico are all expecting unusually hot summers, which could create dangerous conditions and disadvantage teams that are scheduled to play in warmer locations. A recent Bloomberg analysis predicted that Tunisia, followed by France and Ghana, will face the most heat stress based on their game schedule. But teams that typically practice in cooler conditions could also struggle.
The petri dish of it all: On the subject of health and safety, public health officials are also bracing for outbreaks of infectious disease around the World Cup matches, since they’re expected to draw millions of fans. Researchers are most worried about measles and dengue; Ebola and hantavirus are, thankfully, less of a concern, given their mode of transmission.
An unusually good US team: The US has won several World Cups — several women’s World Cups, that is. The men’s team has struggled by comparison. This year, however, the US has a reliable scorer in 24-year-old Folarin Balogun, who switched his allegiance from England in 2023. He joins returning stars like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie. The US head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, is also a fascinating character; he famously keeps a box of lemons in his office to soak up negative energy.
Dark horses and underdogs: Even if you’re not a huge soccer fan, several teams are coming to this year’s tournament with incredible stories. Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan all qualified for the first time this year. Iraq and Haiti made the cut for the first time in generations. Iraq faced a long road to the games, too: The team was stranded en route to its final qualifying match after the Iran war shuttered airports across the Middle East. Japan, meanwhile, has played 25 World Cup matches without making the quarterfinals and is finally hoping to break that streak.
