From cheap transport to football geekery: how Zohran Mamdani won the World Cup

<p>The New York City mayor has made his mark on the tournament to cap an extraordinary run of sporting success over the last few months</p><p>A stunning evening sun was setting behind Union City on Wednesday. It made it slightly harder to see the giant screen that had been set up for the Brazil v Scotland watch party in Hudson River Park, but not enough to ruin the vibe of a New York City World Cup evening. Partly it didn’t matter because the clutch of Brazilians watching the game, kitted out in canary yellow and “100% Jesus” headbands, were already in full samba mode, given how <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/25/scotland-brazil-world-cup-match-report">comfortable their 3-0 win was</a>. But mainly it was because this was a beautiful World Cup moment.</p><p>This is my eighth World Cup. The outdoor screening, combined with the gentle breeze off the Hudson – I had already navigated the hubbub in Times Square, colonised by chanting Germans and flag-waving Ecuadorians – was as captivating as anything I’ve experienced in Marseille, Seoul, Cape Town or Rio de Janeiro. New York City is perhaps the only place in the world where a World Cup may go unnoticed but the tournament genuinely feels like an intrinsic part of life in large parts of the city, certainly since <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/18/new-york-knicks-parade-fans-nba-champions">the Knicks’ victory parade</a> finished. In fact, the feelgood endorphins seem to have segued seamlessly into World Cup fever for many in the city.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/26/zohran-mamdani-world-cup-new-york-mayor">Continue reading...</a>