The strange scene in the World Cup draw

There was actually a draw in the lottery show, but it was obscured by all the gas and fluff. The group slots were filled, and the paths were revealed. During the 2026 World Cup, forty-eight teams will compete; This means sixteen more competitors than they were last time. There was some concern that expanding the tournament too much would dilute the quality of the matches, but for the most part this does not appear to have happened. There are tense matches all around: England will face Croatia early. Brazil will face Morocco. We will have the opportunity to see Frenchman Kylian Mbappe, perhaps the best player of his generation, facing Norwegian Erling Haaland, one of the few players who could compete with him. Even the United States, which has drawn favorably – recently beating two teams from its group in friendly matches – will need to perform, which has not always, or often, been the case since their promising performance at the last World Cup. The team’s first match will be in Los Angeles on June 12 against Paraguay. The friendly match between them last month, which the United States won, ended in a brawl.

One day, Trump described Infantino as a child looking forward to presents under the Christmas tree, and at another he described him as “the king of soccer, I guess.” Perhaps “Lapdog” would have been more appropriate. But I think all this clinging to Infantino’s part makes sense. There was a time when Infantino was a relatively likable Swiss bureaucrat, a non-threatening candidate for first place after much effort. FIFAThe country’s leadership was ousted due to accusations of corruption and graft. Infantino won his turn in 2016, partly by promising to reclaim the league FIFAReputation – but mostly by suggesting they send some FIFAReturn of wealth to member organizations. To do this, he talked about expanding major leagues, growing the game in emerging markets, and an ambitious and revitalized Club World Cup. He used rhetoric that Trump knows better than anyone more. He wanted more games, more host cities, and more revenue – which meant, of course, more dependence on despots.

He’s gotten what he wanted so far. The FIFA World Cup will be hosted in Qatar’s oil-rich desert in 2022. There will be sixteen host cities in three countries. The first round will include seventy-two matches across twelve groups. Six million tickets are expected to be sold. Price increases are already hitting record highs. Infantino claimed that this World Cup would be like hosting one hundred and four Super Bowls. Maybe he understood that; Super Bowls do not require expedited visa access in Uzbekistan for ticket holders. So, Infantino needed Trump, chaos and all, not just to get exceptions to the travel ban or the sale of soccer — or “soccer,” as Trump decided — to get. Maga Crowds but also to open doors. Trump did just that.

There was Infantino and Trump in Davos. Infantino was there when the Abraham Accords were signed. There was Infantino, along with some of the world’s richest men, on stage at Trump’s second inauguration. There was Infantino, with Trump at the peace summit in Gaza. Infantino was there, on a private Qatari plane, after joining Trump for meetings in Doha. There was Infantino, at the White House for a state dinner in honor of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was a crucial figure in bringing the World Cup to Saudi Arabia in 2034, a bid that was unopposed. It has been reported FIFAFootball revenues for the four-year tournament since Qatar will exceed ten billion dollars, more than double the revenues it received before the tournament was held in Russia, in 2018, shortly after Infantino took over. Infantino made the repair FIFAbut not in the way one might have imagined. He was charged with changing the culture of passing money under the table, and he arguably got rid of the table. It’s all out in the open now.

And yet. The FIFA World Cup in Qatar was a human rights disaster, but it was also a remarkable sporting event, witnessing some of the finest performances by some of the best players in history, and ending in an unforgettable final. There is every reason to believe that this summer’s World Cup will bring its share of disasters, and that it will also provide the best kind of high drama. It is a strange irony that many of the people who love soccer most in this country are immigrants, women, or children — those whom Trump’s policies have hurt most. But the game is protected by the people who love it. Love the game, and love you back. ♦