The World Cup between football and power

The 2026 World Cup will go down in history as the first tournament with 48 teams. In memory, however, it risks remaining as the first World Cup in which politics entered the field without asking the referee for permission. Donald Trump's phone call to Gianni Infantino, followed by the suspension of the red card received by Folarin Balogun, opened a Pandora's box that FIFA will have a hard time closing. Regardless of the explanations extracted from the laws of the game, the impression left is devastating: if the regulations can become elastic after a call from the Oval Office, then football's most important competition no longer belongs only to the game. The controversy caused an even deeper rift between FIFA and UEFA, which accused the world forum of undermining its own disciplinary rules.

This was just the background. The inevitable accusations that Argentina is being quietly pushed by FIFA towards another title have come to the fore. There is no conclusive evidence to prove institutional favoritism, but perception matters almost as much as reality. And when trust begins to waver, every borderline decision becomes fuel for conspiracy theories.

Paradoxically, the political war between FIFA and UEFA ended, at least on the pitch, with a clear victory for Europe.

It was said that the expansion to 48 teams would democratize football and diminish the dominance of the European continent. There was talk of the rise of Africa, the explosion of Asia, the new power of North America and the global balance. But the quarter-finals say otherwise: six of the eight places were occupied by European teams.

Europe lost the battle of statements, but it kept its lion's share where it really counts: on the table.

Of course, the old continent is no longer invincible either. Germany went home in the round of 16, dramatically eliminated by Paraguay. The Netherlands surprisingly succumbed to Morocco, and Portugal was stopped by Spain before it could gain momentum. However, the critical mass remained impressive. France, Spain, England, Belgium, Switzerland and Norway have shown that the European school continues to produce solid teams, regardless of the disputes between the offices in Zurich and Nyon.

The great disappointment, however, comes from elsewhere. Brazil continues to search for the football that made it famous. It passed Japan with emotion, but collapsed against Norway, and the feeling is that the "Seleçăo" no longer scares anyone. Once, opponents tried to limit the proportions of the score. Today, they are trying to take advantage of the vulnerabilities of a team that seems to have lost its identity.

Perhaps this is the true image of the 2026 World Cup. Not the scandals, not the phone calls between politicians and football bosses, not the cold war between FIFA and UEFA.

But the fact that, despite all the attempts to rewrite the map of world football, the ball continues to be more conservative than the speeches. In the offices, influence is negotiated. On the field, only goals are negotiated. And so far, Europe still speaks the language that the rest of the world is trying to translate.