After 4 years, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is finally coming soon. Many fans of soccer are looking forward to watching next year’s World Cup live/ on television. The last World Cup was in 2022, and the country that took home the World Cup was Argentina’s national football team. It took place from November 20 to December 18, 2022, and was hosted at Lusail Stadium in Qatar. In the 2022 World Cup, the top goal scorers were Lionel Messi (23’P, 108′), Angel Di Maria (36′), and Kylian Mbappe (80’P, 81′, 118’P). (olympics.org) In 2022, the World Cup was everywhere; many students and even teachers in school put it on for everyone to watch, and next year’s 2026 World Cup will be no different. That’s why many people are looking forward to seeing what team gets to take home the World Cup next year.
The upcoming World Cup will be hosted in the United States, while Canada and Mexico will be hosting specific matches as well. The 2026 World Cup will contain matches within 16 cities in the U.S, which are Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami, New York, Seattle, Philadelphia, and San Francisco Bay. The cities in Mexico will be Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. Lastly, Canada matches will be hosted in 2 cities which will be Toronto and Vancouver. Usually, 3 countries don’t host the World Cup, but next year will be the first time 3 countries have gathered together to host the World Cup. The 2026 tournament will also mark the first time that 48 teams are competing. 8 teams from Asia, 6 from Africa, 16 from Europe, 9 from Africa, 6 from North America, and 1 team from Oceania. Two added teams will be decided by intentional playoffs (britannica.com). 8 teams from Asia, 9 from Africa, 6 from North America (Canada, Mexico, and the United States will take 3 of the spots as host countries), 16 from Europe, 6 from South America, 1 from Oceania, and 2 additional teams that will be decided by intercontinental playoffs.
The first World Cup was held in 1930 and was held in Uruguay. The games lasted from July 13 to the 30th. 13 teams consisted of 7 from South America, 4 from Europe, and 2 from North America. At the end of the tournament, Uruguay was able to take home the World Cup and won its first tournament. Argentina got second place, and 3rd place was tied between Yugoslavia and the United States. During the time of this event, the Great Depression was in progress. Many teams were weary of leaving their country, afraid that they would lose their jobs. This was before soccer was less popular and not as normalized to have soccer as a full-time job and to play for a living (footballhistory.org). During this time, when soccer was not as popularized, the FIFA president Jules Rimet wanted to showcase men’s soccer globally and separate others from the Olympics, and that’s when FIFA was created. At first, it was not as popular, but it soon grew in recognition by all nations(www.footballhistory.org). There were supposed to be more teams attending the events, like Spain, England, Hungary, and Italy, that didn’t attend. All 18 matches were hosted in Montevideo; the stadiums that were used were Estadio Pocitos, Estadio Centenario, and Parque Central. After this event, soccer became more recognized throughout the world and is now played all over. Many have been inspired to try to play soccer for a living as it’s gotten more popularized. Many admire Jules Rimet because, without him, soccer’s popularity would not have skyrocketed throughout the years, meaning people’s dreams of making money by playing the sport they love wouldn’t have come true.
The most infamous soccer players of our century are known to be Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal, Lionel Messi from Argentina, Karim Benezema from France, and Neymar from Brazil. An upcoming player who has been getting a lot of attention lately is Kylian Mbappe, who’s from France (ESPN.com). These players have gained lots of recognition throughout their years of playing soccer. However,2 players are currently the faces of soccer: Messi and Ronaldo. There’s an ongoing debate among fans about who might be better, but they’ve both had their accomplishments in what they have done in their career. Some of Messi’s main accomplishments are being a World Cup Golden Ballwinner, 17-time FIFA FIFPRO world XI, 7-time Copa del Rey winner, and 4-time Champions League winner. These are just some of the many accomplishments he has made, but they have helped him gain a lot of attention. Some of Ronaldo’s Main accomplishments that have helped gain fans and many people’s attention are being a 5-time Champions League winner, 2-time La Liga winner, and 2-time series winner. Some of Benezema’s key achievements are: 5-time club world cup winner, 4-time La Liga winner, and 5-time champion league winner. Lastly, Neymer’s major achievements include being a FIFA Puskas award2-timeme La Liga winner and UEFA Champions League winner. These people have made a big impact in soccer and have gained many fans. They are loved by many and hopefully will continue their career in soccer and play in many more games and events for many years to come. Of course, there are still many more players in soccer who have accomplished a lot. They might not be as popular as the people I’ve mentioned, however, every player who has participated in games and events has their specialty and might soon get the recognition they deserve.
Thousands of years ago soccer started in ancient china,greece, and rom nd from there the futbol association was created in 1863 and grew rapidly in the 1900’s and was included in public schools and later leagues became common around the world (bundesliga.org) Early soccer leagues in the US mostly adopted the name ‘football’ for their activities. Futbol or rather known as soccer got its name from the “English word “football”, which itself likely stems from the action of kicking a ball with the foot, or from a variety of games played on foot in medieval Europe and soccer from the oxnard language that typically adds ‘er’ at the end of their words.” In today’s 2025, there are about 211 national football associations that are members of FIFA (bundsliga.org), although back then, just like many things in history, only men were able to participate in playing soccer. Women were prohibited from playing soccer and it was only until the late 19th century is when women started to play soccer and thus the first ever women’s soccer match took place is the 1800s in inverness(footballhistory.org) and was a hit for the world, after that many women globally started to participate in playing soccer for fun and professionally too. Futbol truly changed the world’s view on women playing sports for the better because now, after women were included in soccer, they started to be included in many other sports as we, such as wrestling, MMA, and other sports with high intensity etc.
Each Country approaches soccer in many different ways and hhastheir way of playing. For example, in Spain they have a passing style named “Tiki-Taka”. This pass is made with quick moves and maintains possession. Many use this in their games as their playing. Argentina is known for its aggressive and intense plays in soccer. Both men’s and women’s teams are known for their burning determination. Japan’s play ethic is known for its strong work ethic and discipline. Many have noticed that in Japan, soccer teams ‘ discipline is beyond what people might expect and their pursuit of working hard throughout their games (fcbarcelona.us). How might American football be different or similar to soccer in other places? American football is known to be more simple and rougher than soccer. Whereas, soccer is way more complex. A lot of its moves also involve hands like through the ball and carrying the ball upfield, soccer only consists of using anything other than your hands to score a goal. However the amount of players is very similar with both sports needing only 11 players to play a match. If you have not noticed, most American footballs also are more “egg-shaped’ which is ideal for kicking. Most of the fields are pretty much similar or identical to other countries’ fields. Both of the sports also have 11 players in each team. Each play continues throughout the game and might have a few substitutes from time to time. However, American teams constantly change their players depending on whether the team is defending or attacking.
The World Cup has skyrocketed with admiration and popularity with around billions of people from all over the world attending the events or watching from home. Now, we’re just waiting for the upcoming tournament that will soon enough be held, with many new countries participating and hosting this coming game.
