Mfonbong Inyang: Nine Stories That Caught My Attention From The 2026 FIFA World Cup

Whew! I will be one of the first to raise my hand and admit that the 2026 FIFA World Cup was a classic. Did it come with its criticisms? Of course. What we cannot say in good faith is that it didn’t deliver on the most important metrics and then some. It turned out most of the fear-mongering and scare tactics were greatly exaggerated. From an objective lens, I would say this World Cup was up there with the greats in terms of the quality of on-pitch action. I can’t say the same for the off-pitch.

Of the many talking points after-the-fact, these ones resonated more with me.

Underdog Stories

When the announcement was made that this year’s edition would comprise 48 teams, many fans weren’t particularly excited because the thinking was: while it would give opportunity to so-called smaller footballing countries to participate, the counter-argument was that the quality of matches at the World Cup might be watered down owing to the uneven pairings. Cape (Cabo) Verde takes the crown for the underdog of the tournament. Before the commencement of the World Cup, I jokingly said I would be rooting for them, but boy did they leave my jaw on the floor with their performances. Small wonder Vozinha, their 40-year-old goalie, has gained almost 30 million Instagram followers on the back of his heroics. Thinking about it, the Argentine and Spanish teams who were eventual finalists couldn’t beat these debutants in 90 minutes of regulation time – that is crazy work. Curaçao, Cape Verde, Haiti, DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Egypt have honourable mentions in the underdog group chat.

The Not-So-Subtle Rivalry Between FIFA &…