My 26 on the 26

There are four teams remaining. Over the last month, we have seen 44 teams eliminated from the tournament. With only four games remaining — two semifinals, a third-place match and the final — here are my thoughts about the tournament so far, regarding teams, players, officiating, political influence and more.

1. The expansion to 48 teams was worth it. The number of small teams who successfully made the argument that they deserved a chance has been incredible. Cabo Verde, Curaçao, DR Congo… so many debutants proved that soccer really has taken over the globe — as if that was ever up for debate.
2. Prices were ridiculously high. There is a reason why the U.S. is the only host to have a made a profit in the 23 editions of the World Cup.
3. VAR should either have authority or should not be used. As of now, if VAR has evidence that there is a “clear and obvious error” in the on-field decision, they can suggest that the referee go to the monitor and review the play. However, it is still the decision of the on-field referee not only whether they want to go to the monitor, but even if they do review it, can still decide to stand with their original decision. If VAR has “clear and obvious evidence,” then the call should be overturned, period. If not, what is the point of having the technology?
4. The “advertisement break” was not necessary and should have only been implemented in a handful of games. The hydration break was a poor excuse to give time for even more ad breaks. In terms of weather conditions there have been a handful at best where the break was justified.
5. Trump’s interference completely killed the USA’s chances. With all the attention switched to the hosts meddling with the tournament, the US lost their form and what we saw vs. Belgium was not the same team we saw play Paraguay.
6. Indoor stadiums should be a new FIFA World Cup requirement. There is no reason why in one game the temperature inside the stadium is a nice, cool 68 degrees and the game right after had so much rain beforehand that streaks of excess water follow the movements of players on the field.
7. The officiating was tipped in Argentina’s favor from the start. Their first match featured the exact same refereeing group from their 2022 World Cup final, both on-field and VAR. In this first match, they “coincidentally” miss Messi’s red-card foul which would have seen him suspended until Argentina’s last group match. Yet USMNT’s Balogun gets a red card for the same type of foul later on in the tournament. Then, against Egypt, the ref calls back Egypt’s second goal for a foul which resulted in the change of possession that led to the goal. Fair. They did not call back Argentina’s third goal when a foul was committed on Salah in the box which resulted in the change of possession that led to the goal. Unfair. Just to give a few examples.
8. Argentina had the easiest route in the World Cup. This is not an opinion, this is fact. Argentina (ranked No. 1 at the start of the tournament) are the first team in World Cup history to reach the semifinals without playing a FIFA ranked top 10 team. They have played: Algeria (28), Austria (24), Jordan (63), Cabo Verde (67), Egypt (29), and Switzerland (19). *These are from FIFA’s last official rankings, published on June 11.* Even now, Switzerland is ranked the highest at No. 14 on their live unofficial ranking.
9. Spain does not feel pressured to score. Most teams of Spain’s caliber, tend to get nervous and play more unruly the longer they go in a match without scoring. Spain is the only team so far that has kept their composure and style of play even when it takes them 91 minutes to score.
10. Barcelona’s Yamal is better than Spain’s Yamal. At Barça Yamal is without question the best player on the team. While playing for Spain, there have been times where you forget that he is on the field. He has had one goal and zero assists in the 454 minutes he has played.
11. France are still the favorite to win. Their attacking force of Mbappé, Dembélé and Olise remains unstoppable. The French have scored 16 goals in the six games they have played so far.
12. France’s group stage display showed why they are the favorites. They averaged three goals a game in the group stage.
13. Mbappé shows why he is one of the tournament’s best. He is the current Golden Boot leader for the tournament with eight goals and three assists, and no signs of slowing down.
14. Jude Bellingham is having a resurgence in form. The way he is playing for England, especially in their last two matches is reminiscent of his breakout season at Real Madrid.
15. The U.S. used the wrong Matt. Goalkeeper Matt Turner was being used for most of the team’s friendlies and tournaments beforehand and, in my opinion, was more in form and better prepared for the World Cup than Matt Freese was.
16. Gio Reyna should have been used more. His presence, calmness on the ball and creativity bolstered the team whenever he was on the field. It would have been interesting to see how much more he could have contributed if he had been a regular starter.
17. Japan’s formation was a masterclass. Japan was by far the most disciplined team at this tournament. They kept their line, nothing was sporadic about their play and in each of their wins there was no question they were the better team.
18. Cristiano Ronaldo should have been used as a guaranteed sub but not as a starter. It was clear that he was not fit to play the full 90 minutes plus extra time should it have been needed. However, his experience and leadership was important and I think would have better served the team if he had come on fresh in the second half when the match is at its most tense point.
19. Charles De Ketelaere had a breakout tournament. He had three goals and one assist in his five matches. Although he already plays for a top-10 team in Serie A, he has proven his quality and would certainly be on my shortlist for the upcoming season.
20. Uruguay should have listened to Suarez. Back in 2024, Luis Suárez spoke about coach Marcelo Bielsa’s negative impact on the Uruguayan squad. Based on their poor performance in the Cup, I wonder if the team now fully agrees with Suárez.
21. South Korea’s coach did not take the World Cup seriously. It felt as though they were sleepwalking through each game. There was no sense of urgency and given their quality there is no reason why they should not have made it out of their group.
22. Germany was overconfident… again. Germany played as if a goal was coming and all they had to do was wait. They waited too long and it never came.
23. Brazil has players but no team. Each game they brought out 11 players but nothing connected them. They took their own chances and given the quality of players they made a decent run, but there was never a sense of teamwork or that they were playing for each other. They will need to find a true leader before they are taken seriously again.
24. Endrick should have been a starter. Given his breakout at Lyon, Endrick was arguably the most in form player on the team. Why Ancelotti did not look favorably upon him I am not sure but it was a mistake not using him more.
25. Brazil and Norway switched roles in their matchup. Brazil played with no real attacking plan and defended as if it was their first time doing so. The fact that Haaland — one of the most lethal attacking players on the planet — got a shot off from right outside the box, with four defenders around him remains a mystery.
26. Haaland’s World Cup debut was insane. Seven goals in six matches. He now has 62 goals in only 54 international appearances.

As always, stay tuned to Futbolhijo.com for in-depth coverage of the biggest World Cup yet. Check back for my next article, where I will be covering matches and news that occur throughout the tournament. You can also read my previous article where I broke down Spain’s advancement.

Cover Photo: View from Hijo’s seat at the 2026 World Cup in Toronto Stadium for the Portugal vs. Croatia match on July 2. Photo courtesy of Futbolhijo.