{"id":1955400,"date":"2026-05-26T09:30:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T06:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1955400"},"modified":"2026-05-26T09:30:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T06:30:22","slug":"what-do-the-athletics-writers-think-of-the-world-cup-the-ultimate-sporting-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1955400","title":{"rendered":"What do The Athletic\u2019s writers think of the World Cup? \u2018The ultimate sporting event\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The men\u2019s World Cup, the biggest global event in sports history (48 teams, 104 matches in 16 cities over more than five weeks), is coming to the U.S., Canada and Mexico in June and July.<\/p>\n

The Athletic<\/em> will cover it like no one else, with reporters at every game and coverage for every level of fandom. If you\u2019re an NFL or baseball fan in North America, wondering how to experience a tournament on home soil, then don\u2019t fear \u2014 we\u2019ll have you covered. Only care about how the United States or Canada fare? Don\u2019t worry, our experts will hold your hand and guide you through the dizziness of the tournament.<\/p>\n

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The men\u2019s World Cup is a tournament that attracts sports fans who might not ordinarily follow soccer all that closely. So in that spirit, we asked some of The Athletic\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0writers who cover other sports to share what they are excited about.<\/p>\n

Here, Marcus Thompson<\/a>, Ken Rosenthal<\/a>,\u00a0Michael Silver<\/a>, Chantel Jennings<\/a>,\u00a0Bruce Feldman,<\/a>\u00a0John Hollinger<\/a> and Hannah Vanbiber<\/a> \u2014 co-author of our upcoming newsletter, the World Cup Briefing<\/a> \u2014 explain what they are most looking forward to this summer.<\/p>\n

Make sure you don\u2019t miss a thing by following the best of our 2026 men\u2019s World Cup coverage here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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What does the World Cup mean to you?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Rosenthal:<\/strong> To me, the World Cup is the ultimate sporting event, the World Series times 10, or even more. I played soccer, was the last man on the bench for the worst high-school team in Long Island \u2014 we went years without winning a game. In high school and college, I worked for the New York Cosmos ticket office when the team was in its glory. So, I can\u2019t wait to see the World Cup played in the U.S. Americans unfamiliar with the sport are about to find out why so many call soccer the beautiful game.<\/p>\n

Silver:<\/strong> It means five-and-a-half weeks of me, my wife and our three adult children becoming immersed in and obsessed with the greatest men\u2019s sporting event on the planet. Watching soccer\u2019s greatest performers compete for country is a thrill like no other; knowing how much it means \u2014 to the competitors, to the fans, to the annals of the sport \u2014 makes the experience sublime. This is especially true when a compelling underdog (Croatia in 2018; any African nation, ever) has the potential to capture hearts and minds across the globe.<\/p>\n

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\n Lionel Messi\u2019s Argentina won the 2022 World Cup in dramatic fashion (Matthias Hangst\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Feldman:<\/strong> Because soccer was a sport I didn\u2019t play growing up and never followed, the World Cup was barely on my radar till I was in my early 30s living in NYC and would go out to bars with some friends who were soccer fans \u2014 and I did like the chants and the camaraderie you felt while watching a game between two countries I had no rooting interest in. I got a little more into it as my son started playing club soccer and I learned more about the game, but I\u2019d be lying if I said I am a big fan of the sport. But I\u2019ve learned to like the sport more and more and usually end up watching all the international tournaments, like I got sucked into Copa America in 2024.<\/p>\n

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Thompson:<\/strong> It\u2019s an opportunity to dive into the world\u2019s most popular sport, with perhaps the highest stakes in sports, and essentially become more united with the world in this way. The World Cup is sports on PEDs. It has everything that makes sports exceptional and addictive. And as an American, it sometimes feels like we are deprived of the excellence of soccer. Less so now, as modern media affords us more access, but we\u2019re still relative outsiders to the sport in the same way the rest of the world is to the NFL or NBA. So it\u2019s special to be active participants in such a beautiful and dramatic sport.<\/p>\n

Hollinger:<\/strong> The best sports tournament on the planet, regardless of the attempts FIFA makes to mess it up. It\u2019s the Olympics meets the NCAA Tournament, where a small country can still have their One Shining Moment even if we know one of the bluebloods will win the whole thing, except instead of once-every-four-year sports like gymnastics or figure skating, it\u2019s the most popular game in the world.<\/p>\n

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Jennings:<\/strong> Though I wasn\u2019t much of a soccer player, my family became a soccer family when my younger sister got involved and ultimately played in college, and I also married into a soccer family, so I\u2019m surrounded by devoted fans and through osmosis, I\u2019ve soaked up a lot. But for anyone who hasn\u2019t watched (or married into a family full of soccer fans), soccer is the ultimate \u201cbecome a fan in 90 minutes or less\u201d sport and the World Cup is the beautiful game on its biggest stage \u2014 winning a world championship and actually<\/i> winning a world championship (not that other sport or league would claim such a thing\u2026).<\/p>\n

I love the way sports can draw fans in with this kind of revelry and rivalry, and witnessing good competition can instantly make any sports fan invested. Being able to be swept up into that during the World Cup will be unlike anything else.<\/p>\n

Vanbiber:<\/strong> I played soccer briefly in middle school and was absolute trash, so I didn\u2019t follow it much until I studied abroad (hold your groans, please!) in the UK during my junior year of college. It was there that I went to my first match and spent downtime in pubs cheering along to the Premier League. A few years later, I moved to NYC in time for the 2014 men\u2019s World Cup, and it was truly magical watching it from a city where nearly every country in the tournament has a massive, built-in fanbase. I ended up pulling for Brazil after the U.S. was out, and I cried when they lost to Germany. Then, a year later, the U.S. women won! And then they won again in 2019! The energy in NYC during those World Cups was unforgettable and unmatched.<\/p>\n

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The World Cup Briefing, a quick rundown of updates and insights for every fan \u2014 every day of the tournament.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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What\u2019s the question about soccer that you\u2019ve always wondered and never asked?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Rosenthal:<\/strong> How extra time is calculated!<\/p>\n

Silver:<\/strong> Why the hell the powers that be would allow VAR (video assistant referees) to infiltrate the sport in such a comprehensive manner? I can see using it for objective rulings (did the ball cross the goal line?\u2026 did it carom off a defender\u2019s hand?), but the overreach is nauseating. Hey, let\u2019s play God and decide whether a full-speed tackle was actually worthy of a PK, or not. Awful. Play on.<\/p>\n

Feldman:<\/strong> There\u2019s two things that always bugged me about soccer: all the flopping and stoppage time. At times, some of the injury faking looks like 70s WWF.<\/p>\n

I get that there can be a yellow card given out for the faking. I rarely see it in the games I watch. So, why don\u2019t they give out more yellow cards to discourage it? Also, because of all the theatrics, etc, you have this guessing game that goes after 90 minutes. In one sense, I think that ramps up the angst of the game\u2019s ending but we don\u2019t do this in other sports \u2014 wait, am I answering my own question?<\/p>\n

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Thompson:<\/strong> Why can\u2019t players who sub out can\u2019t come back in? It\u2019s more an irritation than a question. I get endurance is a tenet of the sport. But is that still not so if the best can rest for five minutes? With the velocity and intensity, the product would be better if resting were allowed. Stars can be fresher for the waning moments. Or be on the field. Nothing more frustrating than a key player subbing out and now the backup who ends up playing the most critical minutes in overtime. A team\u2019s depth (and thus, roster construction) matters more when players can rest.<\/p>\n

Hollinger:<\/strong> Why do they always use their subs on the forwards when the wingbacks are the ones doing all the running? I\u2019ve asked a couple people who actually work in soccer this question and was never totally satisfied with the explanation I heard.<\/p>\n

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Jennings:<\/strong> If players are going to wear their socks over their knees, why don\u2019t they just wear leggings instead? Feels more convenient in terms of access to the shin guards.<\/p>\n

Vanbiber: <\/strong>Dumb question that is honestly my most burning one: How badly does it hurt when they do that victory slide on their knees<\/a><\/span><\/u>? And don\u2019t tell me \u201cif the grass is wet enough, it doesn\u2019t hurt.\u201d I just dislocated a kneecap from just thinking about it!<\/p>\n

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What are you most looking forward to during the World Cup?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Rosenthal:<\/strong> Seeing the event sweep over our nation in city after city. And the reactions of fans from different countries, positive and negative. The emotion is at such a fever pitch, going well beyond what we experience even for a championship even in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Silver:<\/strong> Mexico finally making some noise in the knockout round! (Hey, I know it\u2019s not likely\u2026 but a Californian can dream.)<\/p>\n

Feldman:<\/strong> My son turned me on to Erling Haaland a few years back. He\u2019s my favorite soccer player. There are a few rare athletes who just seem that much more dynamic than everyone else on the field that you can\u2019t take your eyes off them. That\u2019s him. He is a goal-scoring machine. I love watching him play. Since it\u2019s been over a quarter century since Norway has made the World Cup, I\u2019m fired up to see how he and his country do after such a long drought.<\/p>\n

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\n Norway\u2019s Erling Haaland could be one of the stars of the World Cup (Terje Pedersen \/ NTB \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Thompson:<\/strong> Two things. One, watching the best play when it matters most. You really get to see how good the elite soccer players are in this pressure-cooker of a tournament. Two, discovering some baller that true soccer fans already know. So when I talk to my international friends, I can act like I know something.<\/p>\n

Hollinger:<\/strong> Christian Pulisic. A lot has been heaped on him to basically be the savior of American soccer, or at least the guy who drags us up to the level of the better European sides, and while he\u2019s been our best player when healthy, he\u2019s also been injured a lot and, in what should be his prime, hasn\u2019t found the net once in his last 19 games. Can he be The Guy who lifts the U.S. to the top of a winnable group, or is he Just a Guy?<\/p>\n

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Jennings: <\/strong>Much like college students coming home from study abroad and saying they spent a semester in Barcelona<\/i>, I much look forward to the Americans spending the next month and a half saying f\u00fatbol instead of soccer. But really, I\u2019m just excited to watch soccer with friends and family. My husband has been planning backyard viewing parties for months and there\u2019s a fantastic soccer bar in St. Paul (shout out, Black Hart) that will certainly host some of the best watch parties in the Twin Cities.<\/p>\n

Vanbiber: <\/strong>That moment of discovery. Maybe it\u2019s a player you barely knew about who captures your excitement, or an underdog country winning a match and the world\u2019s heart, or just a magnificent play that defies the laws of physics and sends you down a rabbit hole learning everything you can about how soccer works. That\u2019s the magic of sports fandom: Discovering you love something you just learned about, or finding a new surge of passion for something you\u2019ve always loved. There\u2019s nothing like it!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also really looking forward to seeing the phenom that is Lamine Yamal. (Please recover quickly!)<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s your prediction for how the United States\/Canada will fare?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Rosenthal:<\/strong> I have no idea. Don\u2019t follow it closely enough.<\/p>\n

Silver:<\/strong> I remember in \u201894 when the host U.S. team made some noise, got to the knockout round and played Brazil tough on the Fourth of July. Thirty-two years\u2019 worth of development later, the Americans should, in theory, be better positioned to reach a higher level. Spoiler alert: They aren\u2019t. Anything can happen, and it\u2019s always a bonus playing at home, but the U.S. team still lacks the type of game-changers that elite soccer nations possess. As for Canada, man it\u2019s going to be tough for them to make a run. However, getting out of the group stage (under the revamped format) is a realistic goal.<\/p>\n

Feldman:<\/strong> Group D<\/a> (the U.S.\u2019 group) is not exactly a gauntlet. There are no powerhouse teams to fear. The USA is 16th in FIFA rankings and their odds with the home support only boost expectations that much more. Getting out of the group stage is a must. I think advancing in the knockout stage is a reasonable hope.<\/p>\n

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Group D<\/h3>\n
Games in: Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Calif., Seattle, Vancouver, Canada<\/div>\n

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