Andy Clayton: Despite FIFA's best efforts, this World Cup was one to celebrate

Andy Clayton, New York Daily News on Jul 20, 2026

Published in Soccer

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NEW YORK — There is nothing better than a soccer summer.

But that sentiment was very much in doubt even in the final days leading up this World Cup.

FIFA, with the Trump administration cheering on (or was it the other way around?) had done just about everything it could to tarnish the lead up to this three-country North American tournament.

Gianni Infantino, the overlord of soccer’s international governing body, seemed bound and determined to make this quadrennial event about all the things that are wrong in the world today: Money, money, money. Toss in the blood thirst for power and you have a pretty unhealthy combination.

The tickets were outrageously priced at best and borderline extortion at worst. Fans were also price-gouged when it came to public transportation ($98 for a NJ Transit ticket) or parking ($225 for a spot at the American Dream mall). Welcome to America!

Infantino embarrassed the world’s most popular sport by presenting President Donald Trump with a made-up participation trophy he called the FIFA Peace Prize back in December at the World Cup draw ceremony.

Since the pair walked out onto the field together Sunday night at MetLife Stadium to conduct the trophy presentation after Spain beat Argentina in extra time to win the Cup, it was hard to know just who exactly the shower of boos was meant for.

We could go on and on … the treatment of Iran’s national team and of Egyptian fans; the highly-qualified Somali referee who was denied entry; the phone call to have a red card overturned.

And, of course, the Americanization of the beautiful game which led to the game being divided into four quarters so that Fox could air three minutes of ads each half to grab as much additional revenue as possible under the ruse of protecting player health (hydration breaks!).

Sunday’s final in New Jersey also featured a World Cup first Super Bowl-style halftime show — Madonna! BTS! Ted Lasso! Justin Bieber! Shakira! — that ran for an ungodly 27 minutes and made little sense while watching live from the press box at the Meadlowlands (and wasn’t helped by a rewatch from the couch a few hours later).

But despite FIFA, and Trump’s, best efforts to steal the rhythm and joy of the sport, there is no denying that soccer won the summer.

Yes, the final game — No. 104 if you are scoring at home of this super-sized 48-team tournament — between Spain and the defending champion Argentina produced a game as dull as the stadium that hosted it. It is the home of the Jets after all, we are used to seeing a team make scoring look downright impossible. But that didn’t tarnish the 103 games that came before.

We had the game’s biggest stars delivering a Golden Boot race for the ages with France’s Kylian Mbappe ultimately taking home top prize with his 10 goals. Messi had 8 before his quiet farewell performance in Argentina’s loss to Spain on Sunday. Jude Bellingham tallied 7, along with breakout sensation Erling Haaland of Norway. Ousmane Dembele of France and Harry Kane of England finished with 6.

Tiny Cape Verde proved the critics of the expanded World Cup field wrong by opening with a scoreless tie against the eventual champions in Spain and finished with a thrilling performance in the round of 32 by scaring the daylights out of Argentina before Messi’s squad finally put the game to bed in extra time. Nine of the 10 African countries reached the knockout stage, as did all three hosts (don’t forget Canada and Mexico were part of this tournament).

Ultimately, though, this tournament was about the fans. The Tartan Army of Scotland drinking Boston dry (Yes, sir, they can boogie); The Norwegians rowing their way through Times Square and beyond; the England fans belting out “Wonderwall” and “Hey Jude” after each Three Lions wins. The only good thing about those silly hydration breaks were the stadium sing-alongs as fans sang “Livin’ on a Prayer” or “Mr. Brightside” together as one.

And the Australians had a pretty catchy chant they sang as they made their way through the host cities of Vancouver, Seattle and Santa Clara, Calif. (Google it; it’s fun).

Those that could afford to make the summer trip to the States (and to our friends to the north and south, regardless of what the current administration thinks) were bound and determined to have a good time. They learned about ranch dressing and Waffle House and gas stations as big as some of the smaller countries competing here.

The atmosphere at the games was world class. To steal a line from someone on social media, getting to be in a stadium filled with tens of thousands of fans crossing off a bucket list item was pretty special. And that’s what each and every game felt like. It was 39 days of near daily magic. The moments on the field had the final word.

While it is sad to say goodbye to another soccer summer, the good news is that the Women’s World Cup in Brazil is only 339 days away … and in this version the Americans actually have a great chance to hoist the trophy.

Let the countdown begin.

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