The longest and most controversial World Cup kicks off

BarcelonaFIFA was eager for the ball to start rolling at the Azteca Stadium. It was the way for football to move past the multiple controversies that have surrounded the 2026 World Cup and that even threatened to derail it. The match between Mexico, one of the hosts, and South Africa, which ended with a local victory (2-0) with goals from Quiñones and Jiménez, kicked off a competition that for the first time will have 48 national teams, will last 39 days, with 104 matches scheduled, and will know its winner on Sunday, July 19.

The performance of Shakira, author of the anthem of Dai, Dai, the World Cup anthem, put the finishing touch to an inaugural ceremony that began with a nod to the Aztec past of one of the host countries. A pyramid in the center of the field, from which a giant version of the trophy that the champion will take home emerged, surrounded by dancers, was the starting point of a celebration that only lasted half an hour but was packed with colors and performances. With the slogan "Football brings us all together", Maná opened the show, followed by Danny Ocean, Los Ángeles Azules, Belinda and J Balvin, until Shakira and Burna Boy closed an event that was followed with great attention by the more than 80,000 people who filled the Azteca Stadium, which is hosting a World Cup match again 40 years later, while Mexico becomes the first country to host a World Cup on three occasions. For this Friday, the other two inaugurations are planned, in the cities of Toronto (Canada) and Los Angeles (United States), coinciding with the first match to be played in each of the organizing territories.

The United States are, fundamentally, the cornerstone of this candidacy. But in the country, which already hosted the 1994 World Cup, football – there called " FIFA's balances to move forward with the World Cup in the United States

The United States is, at its core, the backbone of this candidacy. But in the country, which already hosted the 1994 World Cup, football – known there as soccer– is not a priority for the American president. Therefore, Infantino has balanced to please Trump precisely, to whom he awarded the first edition of the FIFA Peace Prize. In parallel, he was looking for a refuge so that Iran, one of the tournament participants, could be present despite being at war with the United States since February. Finally, the expedition settled in Tijuana, on the Mexican border, with 24-hour visas to go to the venue of the match and return to the hotel. A last-minute solution that has not avoided some other controversial scenarios such as the one experienced by Aymen Hussein, the star of the Iraqi team, who was detained for hours in Chicago and said he had been "treated like a terrorist".

Mexico is also not going through a good political moment, despite the inaugural match allowing attention to be diverted for a few moments and avoiding talk of the teachers' protests, who have been on strike since the 1st, demanding improvements in salaries and the pension system. Despite the protesters' attempt to block, the mythical Azteca stadium was full, but it will be difficult to see the stands full of the public. And it is that the price of tickets has been the other great focus of controversy among spectators. With the competition already underway, most group stage matches have only 50% of tickets sold. In Spain's debut, who plays on Monday against Cape Verde, tickets cost between 500 and 1,500 euros, while for the final the prices rise to 15,000 euros.

FIFA is clinging to the last dance of stars like Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, who are playing their last World Cup captaining the Argentina and Portugal teams, respectively. It relies on the magic of Lamine Yamal, leader of a Spain that has the favorite tag; on Mbappé's goal-scoring effectiveness at the head of France; on the hunger of a Brazil that has gone two decades without winning the tournament or on the also candidates Germany and England so that football, the ball, the goals, come above all.