Au Revoir and Hasta La Próxima to the World Cup

So a tournament that started more than a month ago in the what now seems to be the temperate time of June has finally ended.

The 2026 World Cup belongs quite rightly to Spain. The Argentinians who had surprised us all with their skillful play and, of course, the incredible Leo Messi were beaten into submission by a much better team. It was a fabulous World Cup, and in spite of Donald not knowing quite when to get off the stage at the end, it turned out to be one of the great ironical paradoxical American welcomes to the rest of the world. The change of format 48 countries instead of 32 brought together countries that we did not know much about. They brought their soccer skills to our shores, their customs and celebrations. Not just the USA but Canada and Mexico – Just think of the electric pulse of the great Aztec stadium!

I believe this world cup taught Americans a lot about soccer, about yellow cards and red cards. And sometimes how to change red cards! But it taught us all that there are other sports beyond American football and baseball. There is soccer, the Beautiful Game. This world cup was watched by 1.5 billion people. Compare that to 125 million who watch the Super Bowl! The game introduced us to countries and personalities that provided us with a look at the way we should be as we go about our daily business of interacting with those who are not from here. Hopefully, it taught the kids internationalism. It taught them that David Beckham sometimes goes to Home Depot. It taught them that Scottish people really do wear kilts and are really capable of drinking a town like Boston completely dry without anybody looking the least bit drunk. We got to love VAR, the referees who came from all over the world. The hydration breaks. The impossible size of the pitch. Players exhausted after running for 2 hours sometimes. The drama of penalties. The heartbreak and the joy. We got to love Norway. Not just the fjords and the northern lights and the Arctic Circle. We got to love the team and their drums and their Viking chants – The row!

This was probably the swan song for Leo Messi. All of us who have had the privilege and pleasure of seeing him play either in person or on TV should know well that he is unquestionably the greatest player that has ever played the sport. For that we should be grateful that America brought him here so that we could watch him one last time as he passed his crown to a 19-year-old Spaniard, who hugged him at the end of the final in a beautiful embrace.

It will seem strange to not wonder who’s playing tomorrow as we lapse back into the heady days of summer, as we take ourselves on vacation. We settle into baseball and we wait for the fall but nothing will come close to the experience that we all felt as a nation watching this great World Cup as it slowly converted most of America into soccer addicts. So sad to see you go so soon.