Ten takeaways from the 2026 World Cup

NEW YORK, July 20 : The World Cup wrapped up on Sunday, with Spain crowned champions after beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final in front of a capacity crowd at New York New Jersey stadium.  

Here are some takeaways from the tournament, which was co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico:

• A new, expanded format of 48 teams meant more matches, more goals, and more records broken. But ultimately, it was dominated by the usual suspects, with all four semi-final places won by world soccer governing body FIFA's top four ranked teams — Argentina, Spain, France and England.

• There were, however, a couple of fairytale runs — Cape Verde won over supporters' hearts after the debutant band of journeymen professionals and raw ​youngsters held Spain and Uruguay to draws and forced Argentina into extra time. Norway entertained audiences with their "Viking row" and made it to the quarter-finals for the first time ever.

• Ahead of the tournament, worries over visas, guns and a lack of local interest had made many global fans sceptical of the U.S. role in hosting. But ultimately supporters found a warm welcome from Americans in what became known as the Great American Sleepover. Social media was filled with cross-cultural posts of Americans embracing the traditions of visiting supporters — even morning bagpipes — and Europeans discovering the delights of free soda refills.

• Men's soccer in co-host Canada has for years struggled to take off at the higher levels but the team's progress to the last 16 signalled that may be changing, with investment in the sport accelerating and games attracting record crowds.

• By contrast, soccer is well-established in Mexico. Stadiums were (mostly) packed and fans euphoric, especially