Expert opinion: ‘With the 2025 Club World Cup over, is the US ready to host the 2026 World Cup?’

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Foot Africa

·13 July 2025

Expert opinion: ‘With the 2025 Club World Cup over, is the US ready to host the 2026 World Cup?’

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There seems to be a lot of exclamation points about the United States hosting the 2026 World Cup.

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Expert opinion: ‘With the 2025 Club World Cup over, is the US ready to host the 2026 World Cup?’

As the curtain comes down on the FIFA Club World Cup, which provided plenty of entertaining and valuable matches between top clubs in cities across the United States, the question remains as to whether the United States will be able to deliver a good fan experience at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in its expanded version.

With this in mind, FootAfrica hosted Waheed Rizk Al-Masri, a sports journalist with more than 30 years of experience in the field of sports media and a correspondent for Al Arabiya TV's sports section, to ask him his opinion on the current FIFA Club World Cup and the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Waheed Rizk Al-Masri in front of MetLife Stadium

Question 1:

After the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, which was hosted by the United States for the first time, do you think the country was able to successfully organise such major tournaments, or did it face significant challenges?

Answer: The United States has already faced logistical difficulties, especially those related to weather conditions. This tournament can be seen as a preliminary test for hosting the 2026 FIFA Team World Cup, and has revealed important lessons that organisers need to absorb, especially in terms of choosing match times and preferring indoor or covered stadiums as much as possible.

Looking back at the 1994 World Cup, will the United States be able to overcome the issues that arose then and deliver an exceptional fan experience during the 2026 edition in the summer?

There are significant differences between the 1994 and 2026 editions, most notably the increase in the number of participating teams to 48 for the first time in the tournament's history, which is an organisational challenge in itself. However, the organisers and FIFA have a full year to optimise the arrangements and avoid any hiccups, with the aim of delivering a successful edition that lives up to fans' expectations.

Answer:

Based on performances throughout the tournament, PSG look the strongest favourites to win the title, but that will depend on their ability to maintain their form in the final. It's worth noting that past results don't decide the match, it's the actual performance during the match. On the other hand, the Chelsea manager will look to exploit his team's strengths and address gaps, with a focus on forcing the opposition to make mistakes that can be capitalised on.