The Issues From The Public
The 2026 FIFA World Cup for all intents and purposes to this point has been a success. A good portion of the games have been very good if not great, we have had some really good matchups and even had one in an iconic venue, when England took on Mexico in the Azteca in Mexico City. So far, FIFA could not have asked for much more, except maybe having the host nations move a little further along in the tournament. They would have loved to have has the US team play better against Belgium and put up a better fight. The poor showing by the US really showed how much further our nation needs to go to really play with the best team in the world. If there is any consolation, Belgium took Spain down to the wire but the talented Spanish team just outlasted the aging Belgian team.
The main issues people have with soccer, football, futbol, whatever your country likes to call it is the constant diving, flopping and acting by the players. I actually think it hasn’t been as bad in this World Cup than in others I have seen in the past. I actually saw a post I put up on Facebook from a World Cup maybe 8 years ago or so where I was complaining about Neymar flopping and if FIFA and the referees really wanted to do anything about it, they would give red cards to players for these actions. Now, as someone who has mentioned numerous times, even on this podcast that I am not the soccer expert on here. I leave that to Chris, so I do not know if that is something that can be done but it is surely something to think about. I truly believe you start throwing out red cards at players who are flopping, this crap will stop and we will get to see the soccer we all really want to see without the constant stoppages.
I joke all the time that these players act like they were shot when nothing even happened. Don’t get me wrong, I know it hurts to get cleated and it definitely leaves some pain. That is truly understandable to go down when that happens but when another player barely touches you, you cannot go down and act like some just knocked you out. You may say I sound like a laymen or someone who does not know anything about the sport and you have that right, but I feel I speak for the many, many people who are the casual watchers that come around every 2-4 years to watch these countries play each other, whether it is qualifying matches, the Euros or the World Cup. Nobody wants to see guys diving all over the field acting just to draw a yellow or red card or receive an undeserved penalty kick.
There has been much talk about Argentina receiving preferential treatment during this tournament. I am not here to speak about this, nor am I qualified to speak about this. I don’t necessarily have a dog in the fight, except that my son loves Messi and wants Argentina to win as well as my wife have a distance relative who played and coached for Argentina a while back. What we saw during the Argentina-Switzerland match on Saturday was a great match and really came down to the final moments. Switzerland took the Argentinians to extra time and had some chances but could not pull it out. What we saw was, during the second half Breel Embolo of Switzerland had the ball and went down acting like he had been tripped by Leandro Paredes. Paredes was originally given a yellow card on the play because the excellent acting by Embolo, the referee thought he had tripped him without making a play on the ball. The VAR referees told the game referee to look at it so he went to VAR. It was then determined that Embolo did embellish and the yellow card to Paredes was rescinded and Embolo was given a yellow card for his actions. The rub here was that Embolo had been given a yellow card earlier in the match which meant this was his second yellow card and he would then be given a red card and thrown out of the game. Switzerland then had to play the final 45-50 minutes with only ten men against a really good Argentina team who they were already underdogs too.
Take all this and then a player forcing his team to play with ten players for such a long period, I am sure it did not sit well with the Swiss fans and fans in general.
Now, we all know about the corruption with FIFA. We have spoken about it on this podcast as well as it being written about by Chris (https://throwingbagels.squarespace.com/blog/red-card-grifters-gonna-grift & https://throwingbagels.squarespace.com/blog/world-cup-ticket-disappointment). In the NY/NJ area, it almost impossible to drive to a game. New Jersey Transit is price gauging patrons charging $98 for a one-way ticket to the game and shutting down Penn Station to riders who do not have a ticket to the game so commuters cannot travel during these designated times. I am lucky, my company let us work from home on these game days when I was scheduled to be in the office but I am sure many others were not so lucky. If you drove, I believe it was costing over $200 to park at the American Dream Mall.
Now, we are hearing about FIFA selling grass from the field or pitch, whatever you would like to call the playing surface for $450 from the Met Life Stadium or NY/NJ Stadium (for World Cup purposes) to anyone who is willing to cough up the dough. In the illustrious words of John McEnroe, “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS”!!!! How are they allowed to get away with all of this grifting? A piece of the field will be permanently preserved in a premium acrylic with a USB keepsake. FIFA has said “the acrylic USB features an authenticity film, while offering a sleek, contemporary display piece. Presented in a premium hinged shoulder box with a striking spot UK detailing, this exclusive item is designed for collectors, fans and football enthusiasts alike.” (Reported by ESPN News Service, 7/10/2026)
Lastly, FIFA is selling close to 1,200 tickets to the World Cup Final match at nearly $7,000 each. Ticket prices dropped considerably after the United States and Mexico lost. Once again FIFA has struck again trying to rip off fans at every chance they can. Tickets had been listed as sold out for the final for months, but somehow all of these tickets appeared out of thin air. It just goes to show, you never know when FIFA will continue treat the fans as pieces of meat, garbage, etc. and continue to take advantage.
With all of this said, as I mentioned previously, this World Cup has been pretty good and we have four top tier nations in the semifinals with the France-Spain being one of, if not the premier matchup of this whole tournament. The talent on display in these semifinal matchups will be great to watch and should also make for a great final match.