2026 FIFA World Cup Controversy and Contenders

By Mark S. & Wyatt W.

The United States of America, Mexico and Canada are all hosting the prestigious FIFA World Cup this summer. The tournament will feature 48 teams and a record 104 matches across 16 host cities. The final game will be played in Metlife stadium in New Jersey. It is the first World Cup being played in North America since 1994 but now the competition has been plagued with controversy over the American and Iranian conflicts currently going on in the Middle East.

With conflicts between the U.S. and Iran, fans are skeptical if Iran will be competing in this year's World Cup. If Iran decides to back out they have a few teams who can replace them. These teams include Iraq, and the UAE (United Arab Emirates). It is highly likely we will see the UAE replace Iran being that Iraq’s airports have been shut down due to conflicts in the Middle East. Resulting in players having difficulties leaving the country to play their playoff game on March 31st in Mexico. 

The World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world, often surpassing 5 billion total viewers for the entire tournament. The 2022 World Cup final alone drew an estimated 1.5 billion viewers ,significantly outperforming other major global sporting spectacles and all eyes will be on the top teams expected to win the World Cup. The Spanish being led by Lamine Yamal, the 18 year old, was the runner up in the 2025 Ballon d'Or  rankings which is awarded to the best soccer player in the world based off their previous season.

Another Team expected to go the distance this Summer is the French being led by Kylian Mbappe .The French recently lost to Lionel Messi and team Argentina in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but won in Russia in 2018 against team Croatia. The French are undoubtedly looking for their third World Cup win.

But in order for the French or Spanish teams to win it they'll have to go through the 2022 World Cup champions Argentina. Being led by arguably the greatest soccer player to ever play the game Lionel Messi . He is legendary but he is aiming to be healthy and active in the tournament .As the captain of the defending champions, Argentina, his involvement depends on his physical condition, though he remains in elite form with MLS club Inter Miami. 

Lastly the final team who is one of the best to play in the 2026 World Cup is England, Constantly in the running for the title of World champions many people find it hard to believe that this historic team has only won one World Cup in 1966 being led by Harry Kane the 32 year old is the striker for FC Bayern Munich and is one of the best players to ever come out of England but the question on everybody's mind is will he be able to bring it home for the English?  

The World Cup is less than 100 days away from coming to North America and fans are eager to see how it is all going to play out. With the U.S. being one of the three host fans are wondering if America will dominate in soccer this year. It is highly unlikely that the U.S. will be a dominant team in this year's World Cup. This is due to many reasons but the fact is soccer just isn’t as big of a sport in America compared to European Countries. It is safe to say that this year's World Cup is going to be interesting and exciting not only because of the talent from all around the world but because of all the conflict around the world.