The 2026 World Cup was full of spectacle, scandal and compromise | Jonathan Wilson

<p>This was a good rather than great World Cup on the field. In the background, things were a lot less edifying</p><p>Perhaps it’s too early, with the shreds of gold tape still fluttering through the New Jersey sky, to make a proper assessment. That will only come when everything has sunk in properly, when memories have had the chance to settle and shape themselves, when the consequences of certain events have become clear. But let’s try anyway to make some sort of assessment of where the World Cup that ended with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/20/lionel-messis-world-cup-fairytale-ends-with-pitiful-argentina-as-final-villains">Leandro Paredes grappling with Gavi</a> ranks historically.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/05/folarin-balogun-red-card-suspension-lifted-usmnt-belgium-world-cup">The Balogun Affair</a> could yet have major consequences. At the moment, it feels that the world has moved on, but that’s the nature of tournaments. They have a momentum of their own, a drive towards the finish that tends to sweep everything else aside. But there can be little doubt that the bending before political pressure, sweeping aside 64 years of precedent to ensure a particular player could take the stage, just as Gianni Infantino <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/nov/25/cristiano-ronaldo-clear-world-cup-fifa-suspends-two-games-portugal">had done with Cristiano Ronaldo</a>, just as he had done in gerrymandering the qualification criteria for the Club World Cup to ensure Lionel Messi played, represents a milestone.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/20/a-world-cup-of-spectacle-scandal-and-compromise">Continue reading...</a>