Supersized World Cup had some things go wrong but also a lot went right
There are a lot of things that could have gone wrong during this summer's World Cup — a complicated logistical undertaking that included three host nations, 16 stadiums, 48 teams, 104 games and endless opportunities for controversy on and off the soccer field.
But in retrospect, a lot of things went right.
The United States, Canada and Mexico spent nearly six weeks hosting soccer's biggest showcase and — at least for the most part — the action stayed on the field.
Star players like Argentina's Lionel Messi, France's Kylian Mbappé and Norway's Erling Haaland became household names across North America, television ratings remained high in the U.S. even after the Americans were eliminated and despite high ticket prices, most games featured packed stadiums.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino gave effusive praise to the host countries on Sunday after Spain won the final by beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time.
Attendance was good, so were ratings
Fox broadcast all 104 games in English on its platforms and American viewership remained strong even after the U.S. was eliminated by Belgium in the round of 16.
Spanish broadcasts on Telemundo were also a popular option — even for non-native speakers.
Fox hasn't yet released its viewership numbers for Sunday's final, but Telemundo's preliminary numbers show the Spain-Argentina matchup had a total audience of 22.6 million, putting it on track to become the most-watched World Cup final in Spanish-language media history.
The US-Belgium game on July 6 was watched by more than 45 million, including 33.1 million on Fox and 12 million on Telemundo.
And despite a few early hiccups, stadium attendance was strong throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
"We have had a record number of spectators in the stadiums, almost 7 million," Infantino said. "We will have had, I mean the official figures will come out soon, but probably over 6 billion people watching it from home."
The weather cooperated — usually
Fans and players from other countries found out what Americans, Canadians and Mexicans have known for a long time — it can get pretty hot here in the summer. Climate change isn't helping matters.
But Mother Nature could have been a lot meaner than she decided to be.
Even so, there were a handful of games that featured particularly hot and muggy conditions. The best example was a knockout-round game between Paraguay and France on July 4 in Philadelphia when temperatures hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius).
The World Cup final on Sunday also dodged a potential problem when smoke from Canadian wildfires that wrapped the Northeast in haze mostly cleared from the New Jersey area just in time thanks to some well-timed thunderstorms.
Size doesn't matter
This year's 48-team World Cup field was the biggest in the tournament's history and many thought it would water down the competition.
That wasn't the case.
Cape Verde held eventual champion Spain to a draw in its opening game, advanced to the round of 32 and gave Argentina a scare before losing 3-2 in extra time in a World Cup classic. Congo also advanced beyond the group stage and pushed England before eventually losing, while Curaçao was still in with a chance of making the knockouts going into its final group match.
After those Cinderella stories, fans eventually got to enjoy semifinal games full of heavyweights. England, Argentina, Spain and France were the top four in the world rankings.
Politics can't be ignored
The World Cup is famously a petri dish for political conflict, and this year's version provided its share of strife.
Iran's participation in the tournament amid the war in the Middle East was a particularly thorny issue and the team had to move its base camp from Arizona to Mexico. The Iranians' participation was overshadowed by travel complaints and visa issues, with the U.S. refusing visas to several members of Iran's delegation.
U.S. President Donald Trump's relationship with Infantino was scrutinized after American striker Folarin Balogun's one-game ban for a red card was suspended ahead of the team's round of 16 game against Belgium.
Travel restrictions for a series of countries prevented some fans from traveling to the U.S., but there were no reports of the aggressive immigration enforcement that some human rights groups had feared could take place around World Cup stadiums.
Infantino brushed aside most of the controversies, instead focusing on the positives. While the FIFA president has a vested interest in painting a rosy picture of this year's World Cup, there's little doubt the tournament was a hit from a soccer perspective.
"I think we have to invent a new vocabulary, new words to define the success of this World Cup," Infantino said.
Source: Associated Press
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