*Takes a deep breath GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!
Soccer’s Football’s biggest tournament is here. The World Cup kicks off this afternoon, with games taking place across the US, Canada, and Mexico. The US national team’s first game is against Paraguay on Friday at 9 p.m. ET.
It might be the beautiful game, but the cost to see it in person is getting ugly. Our “So Expensive” series did a fantastic job unpacking how pricey the 2026 World Cup is for fans. Check out the full video here.
We did the math on how much it would cost a fan to follow last tournament’s finalists — Argentina and France — all the way back to the World Cup final. Eight people also told us how much they’re paying to attend games.
One group making the most of their trip: Scotland fans. More than 7,000 members of the “Tartan Army” have turned Providence into their second home for the tournament.
Have zero interest in the World Cup? I’ve got you covered.
There are a lot of parallels between the biggest business trends and the top teams in the tournament.
The IPO giants = Spain and France: In the market, all eyes are on the upcoming massive IPOs from SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI. In the tournament, Spain and France are the heavy favorites. Spain’s win could signal the start of a new era of Spanish dominance in football, not unlike AI’s arrival on the public markets. For France and Kylian Mbappé, a second World Cup title in three tournaments would cement their place as football’s reigning dynasty.
Succession planning = Argentina and Portugal: Oh, you thought it was hard to move on from Bob Iger and Tim Cook. How about following Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo? It’ll likely be the final World Cup for the world’s two biggest athletes. And guess what: There’s a good chance they could face each other in the knockout stage. Good luck paying for that ticket.
Tiny teams = Morocco: Everybody wants to do more with less. Say hello to Morocco. They have stars — I see you, Achraf Hakimi — but they don’t have the depth of a football powerhouse. Small teams can punch above their weight, which is why Morocco is a dark horse contender.
The star employee = Norway: Corporate America is rewarding its star employees above everyone else, which is why Norway’s Erling Haaland deserves a mention. The electrifying 6’5″ striker looks like Ivan Drago if he picked cleats over boxing gloves. Norway won’t win the title, but Haaland might win the highlight reel.
Consumer AI = Brazil: The creativity. The skill. The jerseys. To borrow a phrase from Gen Z, Brazilian football is just a vibe. With legendary Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, the fun won’t stop. But not unlike a lot of the consumer AI apps we like playing with, there is one big concern: Can Brazil’s defense hold up under pressure?
Autonomous vehicles = England: To my English editor, Hallam Bullock, avert your eyes. So much promise. So much hope. So few trophies. England’s team has a way of always being on the cusp of greatness … only to crash out in spectacular fashion. They’ve been saying autonomous vehicles are the future as long as they’ve been singing about football coming home.
Legacy software = Germany: Deutschland’s World Cup success used to feel as dependable as recurring SaaS revenue. But they’ve failed to get out of the group stages the past two tournaments. A young, talented squad could be Germany’s revival, or a sign the game has passed the storied nation by.
