Welcome to The RPO Column. The idea here is simple: We have three topics. We RUN with one idea, PASS on another, and OPTION the other. After an amazing month, the 2026 World Cup is over, so let’s reflect — and look ahead.

Joan Monfort’s prophetic 2007 photoshoot of a baby Lamine Yamal being bathed by 20-year-old Lionel Messi portended a passing of the torch — Yamal’s Spain defeated Messi’s Argentina, 1-0, after extra time in Sunday’s World Cup final. While the embarrassing post-match reaction from the Argentines has deservedly (and unfortunately) stolen the spotlight from Spain’s impressive title run, Messi and Yamal closed the loop on their story with a touching embrace¹ amid the chaos:

Let’s briefly address Argentina.

Sorry, we’ve seen this behavior before. Since Enzo Fernández went live on Instagram with his bus full of teammates singing a racist chant targeting France’s Black players in July 2024, I have not held this group in decent standing. They’ve always been obnoxious winners and lousy losers, but they showed their asses constantly throughout this World Cup. It’s an unfitting finale for Messi.

Enough foolishness. Let’s celebrate!

The 2026 World Cup was the most exciting World Cup since Brazil 2014: RUN

Seriously. It’s been a while since we’ve had a tournament maintain such a high level of excitement from start to finish. (I promise that this isn’t simply a case of getting to watch every match because it was played in North America.)

Overall, this edition absolutely surpassed both Russia 2018 (geopolitics impact and only a few memorable games) and Qatar 2022 (geopolitics impact, plus it was played in November and December!). This World Cup had everything one could have dreamed of from a footballing standpoint.

• The stars shined brightest. Just look at the Golden Boot race leaderboard: France’s Kylian Mbappé (10 goals, 4 assists); Argentina’s Lionel Messi (8 goals, 4 assists); England’s Jude Bellingham (7 goals, 1 assist); Norway’s Erling Haaland (7 goals); France’s Ousmane Dembélé (6 goals and 2 assists); and England’s Harry Kane (6 goals, 1 assist). That’s as glittery as it gets. France’s Michael Olise also dropped 7 assists, surpassing Brazilian legend Pelé’s 56-year-old record for most at a single World Cup. Yamal might have underwhelmed in the numbers department (1 goal), but if you watched any of Spain’s matches, his impact and gravity were still obvious; he’s now the first teenager to win both the Euros and World Cup.

• The underdogs barked loud. Cabo Verde captured the world’s imagination during its incredible run into the knockout stage. Neither Spain or Argentina could beat Cabo Verde in regulation! Sidny Lopes Cabral curled in one of the most iconic World Cup goals — and followed it with one of the most iconic celebrations — against Argentina.

• Titanic matchups, thrilling rallies, and stunning upsets. England holding off Mexico at Estadio Azteca. Paraguay’s penalty-kick upset of Germany. Cabo Verde taking Argentina to extra time. Netherlands-Morocco going to penalties. Norway upsetting Brazil. Belgium’s ridiculous rally against Senegal. Portugal’s tech-boosted win against Croatia. Argentina’s comebacks against Egypt and England. Even the almost-pointless third-place goalfest between France and England. Spain-Argentina might’ve lacked the haymaker swings we all would’ve wanted, but it still proved dramatic. Cinematic competition.

• A trio of breakout stars were impossible to miss. Côte d’Ivoire forward Yan Diamondé and Switzerland midfielder Johan Manzambi were outstanding. Spain center back Pau Cubarsí, named the competition’s Best Young Player, anchored a defense that surrendered one goal across eight matches and had the courage to make one of the most clutch clearances I’ve ever seen during the final minutes of Sunday’s final. While no player has reached a level of breakout stardom that Colombia’s James Rodriguez enjoyed on the 2014 World Cup stage, I think Diamondé (who looks set for a move to Paris Saint-Germain) and Manzambi (who completed his transfer to Aston Villa) are names to monitor entering the next cycle. Cubarsí is already a mainstay with Barcelona — it’s easy to forget he, like Yamal, is only 19.

There’s plenty to address about the tournament’s shortcomings, but the on-field product was special.

The World Cup should expand to 64 nations: PASS

Considering FIFA appears to be taking its cues from the United States in mixing insatiable greed with the soul of sport, hopefully it learns from the Americans’ mistake with the expansion of the College Football Playoff.

Don’t mess up a good thing you stumbled into. Do not expand — 48 teams is perfect.

The players are already playing too many games. Some are playing from 50 to 80 games in a calendar year. This has been something that coaches, players, and FIFPRO have warned about for years. The alarm was raised ahead of this World Cup, too, which marked the first to expand from 32 teams to 48. That problem only worsens by expanding the field and extending the tournament.

It’s a great problem for FIFA, which would see the World Cup balloon from 104 games to 128, meaning more TV revenue. According to BBC Sport, hydration breaks likely generated more than $250 million in ad revenue in the U.S. alone.

The grandiose number of teams also waters down the significance of reaching the tournament. This cycle, 206 countries competed for 48 spots, meaning less than a quarter of nations get in. Expansion would mean more than 30% of countries reach the World Cup — i.e., odds so favorable that even Italy could find a way to qualify.

Additionally, how many nations have the infrastructure to comfortably host 64 nations — and their fans — for, what would likely be, two months of games? Nearly 7 million fans attended the 2026 World Cup, setting a record. Are multi-host World Cups going to be the norm? (The U.S.-Canada-Mexico trio was the first multi-host since 2002 Korea-Japan; Morocco-Spain-Portugal have 2030.) The World Cup is already asking too much of the players physically, and it sounds ridiculous to increase the demands of travel during the summertime (in most of the world). Visa issues hampered teams and coaching staffs at the 2026 World Cup; perhaps it’s better in different countries, but that would be something to be mindful of.

The biggest beneficiaries from potential World Cup expansion are the pockets of stakeholders and TV executives. Not the fans. Every fan should be leery of how expansion could fundamentally corrupt alter the game beyond just three-minute “hydration breaks.”

The United States should host the 2038 World Cup: OPTION

Perhaps you are surprised this isn’t a PASS. The World Cup was amazing! It also sucked. We can hold multiple truths around here.

Ahead of the World Cup, a close friend of mine (American) confessed to our years-old soccer-obsessed² group chat that he was struggling with finding joy in the World Cup happening on American soil because of No. 45 brazenly (lol!) doing whatever the hell he wants at the expense of livelihoods, here and elsewhere. I spoke with Iranian-Americans about how they were reckoning with Iran participating in a World Cup while the U.S. wages war against it. Thankfully, for everyone, the games served as a sedative, even if only a brief one, once they kicked off. But the issues didn’t stop there.

The aforementioned visa issues faced by players and traveling fans (!!!) entering the United States were extremely disheartening. Players and staff from Iran (who headquartered its team camp in Mexico instead of the U.S., where its games were played), South Africa, Senegal, Iraq, Haiti, Côte d’Ivoire, Algeria, Cabo Verde, and Tunisia each were affected by visa issues.

A Somali referee was barred from entering the U.S., despite having a valid visa because ​of links to “suspected members ​of terror organizations.” FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s response? “Maybe sometimes it’s good as well to chill, relax. We work on everything, we try to resolve everything.”

He didn’t resolve much. The fans of Iran and Haiti were subjected to severe travel bans. The U.S. suspended giving out visas to traveling fans from Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. Rights groups and supporter organizations repeatedly cited visa difficulties for fans from Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Tunisia, and Cabo Verde. (It took Cabo Verde goalkeeper Vozinha having one of the greatest performances ever to grant his mother a visa!)

Pull up a map and you’ll notice the pattern: Many of the countries affected are African, Middle Eastern, or from the Global South. The United States has a history of subjecting travelers from these nations to greater immigration scrutiny than those from Europe or the Americas.

“The claim that FIFA has made welcome to the world, unite the world to World Cup,” said Ronan Evain, executive director of Football Supporters Europe, last week, “has largely failed.”

Even for many people here in the U.S., the effort to unite through soccer wasn’t a possibility because of how overpriced tickets were. That didn’t stop people from going (including me) — if you’re a diehard soccer fan, you’re not going to skip a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a World Cup match. FIFA suckered people like me into overpaying as it generated a record $15 billion in revenue (exact ticket and hospitality revenue isn’t known yet, but it’s forecasted to be around $3.5 billion) from the tournament. For reference, the 2022 Qatar World Cup generated a record $7.57 billion in revenue for FIFA, with ticket sales earning $949 million.

Last, but certainly not least, is the proximity of FIFA to U.S. powerbrokers who are, undoubtedly, the best in the world when it comes to greed. Greedy American billionaire influence on club soccer across the world is already rotting soccer’s soul at an ownership level. Allowing the American government to have such (obvious!) influence on the World Cup is concerning — did you see No. 45 refuse to get off stage to let the Spaniards enjoy lifting the trophy?

OK, let’s breathe.

Does all of that stuff suck? Yes.

Amid all of that, did we find reasons for why the U.S. had potential to be a great host? Also, yes³.

Samuel Hymes, a dual Fellow at Harvard University and the Economic Club of New York, has worked as a Washington, D.C.-based strategic advisor within the sports diplomacy space during the World Cup. (“Best way I can say it,” he says.) Basically, his job is to “just try to understand different values because we're welcoming people to a different place. Within sports diplomacy, many people are aware of the idea of it, but putting the two words together is really meaningful to people that they see it from a different perspective, a new understanding of what they're doing.” That meant plenty of 3 a.m. calls with people from different time zones and countries in pursuit of getting a full picture.

There were positives. Moments of viral cultural exchange — for visiting fans who managed to avoid U.S. security and/or visa holdups — proved endearing, especially the Scots’ takeover of Boston, the Norwegians’ Viking row, and a Japanese fan discovering Buc-ee’s and Texas Roadhouse. Yamal hit up a Georgia Wal-Mart and Haaland embraced his inner Texan.

“He absolutely fell in love with the culture,” Hymes notes. “Not only the people, but the whole area as well, too. … We learned from the World Cup that smaller markets — like smaller markets in Texas, smaller markets in Kansas City — can really still leave a lasting impact [on visitors from other countries].”

Hymes forwards this impression to what it could mean for the 2028 Summer Olympics, which are being hosted in Los Angeles. A handful of cities outside of Southern California — New York City, Columbus, Nashville, and St. Louis — will also host some events.

“Overall, it's going to bring more transformative growth into areas that are considered flyovers,” Hymes says. “I think it's mostly about awareness. Think about outside of England, where everyone knows the cities from the soccer clubs. But how many people can name all the towns in France? Or how many people can name all the towns in Italy?”

Here’s where the argument for the U.S. hosting the 2038 World Cup gets more realistic. The infrastructure piece already gives it an advantage — there’s even an argument the U.S. could shoulder a 48-team tournament on its own. Hosting the 2026 tournament and then having the 2028 Olympics, along with co-hosting the 2031 Women’s World Cup, provides plenty of experience. The issue that Hymes points out is whether the U.S. will have grown passion for soccer domestically enough by then to further stamp credibility.

“The only thing that it’s dependent on,” he says. “Is the media going to talk about it?”

Major League Soccer is not considered a top league. An Apple TV subscription is required to view games, aside from 34 aired on FOX networks, for a league that boasts the biggest name in the world in Messi, whose career is in its final chapter. Even with MLS slagging, though, soccer is clearly a much bigger draw now than the last time the U.S. hosted the tournament in 1994. FIFA claims that it filled its venues to 99.7% capacity at the 2026 World Cup, so there clearly interest exists. Plus, the USMNT’s run had the country watching at a record-setting pace, while (wrongly) yelling about Folarin Balogun’s red card and weirdly blaming Christian Pulisic for the Belgium loss.

So the potential, investment, and infrastructure are all there. As No. 45’s administration tries to swing its leverage against FIFA to win the rights to hosting the 2038 World Cup, there are obvious pros and cons.

“Before this World Cup, we were in the third longest drought in our country's history for not hosting a global sporting event,” Hymes says. “That is 24 years. The last one we had was 2002 in the Winter Olympics, and the ‘94 World Cup.”

If the current administration has its way, then the world will be back in 12 years. The United States has proven that it’s capable of hosting the biggest sporting event on Earth. The question is whether, by then, it will allow the world to experience the World Cup how it was always meant to be experienced.

Editor’s Notes

1. I do not own the rights to that video. It belongs to FOX. I will be nice to Alexi Lalas and never tweet mean things about him ever again, just do not come for my Substack. Apparently, the FOX broadcasts were amazing the rest of the tournament! I almost exclusively watched via Telemundo, so… congrats.

2. S/O to The Lads. “Soccer-obsessed” is just code for “I subject my friends to my inner stream of chaotic thoughts surrounding my favorite sport.”

3. To be clear, if you’re hung up on one or many of the previous issues mentioned, that’s a good thing. You have a conscience. I don’t make the rules, but my requirement for entry into World Cup performative fandom would require every person to reckon with those mentioned issues before being allowed to root for any team. And learn what a f*cking red card is!

Welcome to The RPO Column. The idea here is simple: We have three topics. We RUN with one, PASS on another, and OPTION the other. With the United States knocked out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, I decided to quit yapping in my group chats, spare those poor suckers of my thoughts, and just write them out instead. Enjoy!

All that fuss over Folarin Balogun’s red card proved to be a gargantuan waste of time.

The United States men’s soccer team was undone by mental lapses and, ultimately, outclassed by one of Europe’s best in a 4-1 drumming against Belgium in the 2026 World Cup’s Round of 16. This marks the second straight World Cup the USMNT has been dumped out in the Round of 16 (and aside from failing to qualify for Russia 2018, the fourth straight time the team has bowed out at this stage).

To call the result deflating feels like an understatement.

A spectacular 4-1 opening win against Paraguay set the bar and the hype unreasonably high, while a win against Australia to comfortably clinch reaching the Round of 32 maintained optimism. In retrospect, though, the difficulty of the Australia result and the infamous 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina should have been clear warning signs.

The USMNT is in the exact same spot that it was last cycle — capable of emerging as the best from among the world’s scrappiest, yet still unworthy of sharing the pitch with the world’s classiest.

As the U.S. Soccer Federation once again licks its wounds and faces many of the same tough questions hanging over it from four years ago, below, we address some of those issues.

The window for USMNT’s current generation is shut: RUN

The USMNT’s 26-man World Cup roster ranked among the youngest at the World Cup, tied for 12th with Bosnia-Herzegovina. (26.38 years old, per Redditor Safe-Pea-1832.) And that’s with 38-year-old defender Tim Ream dragging that number in the more experienced direction.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s regular starting XI at the 2026 World Cup looked like this:

Goalkeeper: Matt Freese, 27 years old (NYCFC, MLS)

Defenders (right to left): Alex Freeman, 21 (Villarreal, La Liga); Chris Richards, 26 (Crystal Palace, English Premier League); Ream, 38 (Charlotte FC, MLS); Antonee “Jedi” Robinson, 28 (Fulham, EPL)

Midfielders: Tyler Adams, 27 (Bournemouth, EPL); Weston McKennie, 27 (Juventus, Serie A); Malik Tillman, 24 (Bayer Leverkusen 04, Bundesliga)

Forwards: Sergiño Dest, 25 (PSV Eindhoven, Eredivisie); Christian Pulisic, 27 (AC Milan, Serie A); Folarin Balogun, 25 (AS Monaco, Ligue 1)

This XI has an average age of 26.8, which means this is a lineup presently in its prime. Four years from now, U.S. stalwarts in Robinson, Adams, McKennie, and Pulisic will be on the other side of 30. Outside of the preferred XI, midfielders Gio Reyna (23 — Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bundesliga) and Sebastian Berhalter (25 — Vancouver Whitecaps, MLS) were Poch’s favorite subs during the tournament. For whatever reason, fullback Joe Scally (23, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bundesliga), wingback/forward Tim Weah (26 — Marseille, Ligue 1), and midfielder Brenden Aaronson (25, Leeds, EPL) couldn’t break into Poch’s rotation. Most of these players, if they feature, will be on the backend of their primes by the time the Spain-Morocco-Portugal World Cup starts.

On Monday, Belgium left star winger Jeremy Doku and legends Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne on the bench, and still dominated in every facet. Whether you’re a Eurosnob or an MLS apologist, Monday simply wasn’t a good day for either faction of U.S. Soccer fandom. Pulisic and McKennie are Serie A starters (we can discuss the current quality of the league on another day); Adams, Richards, and Robinson are Premier League starters. Robinson is the only player of that group who played well; the rest underwhelmed on the biggest stage where they were expected to lead the way. Ream and Freese each had “what are you doing!” moments that led to goals. Freeman, an MLS alum, and Berhalter had decent outings, though.

Regardless of league, there simply aren’t many u25 USMNT players currently inspiring much confidence for the next cycle, not at the levels that this group reached. Of course, things can change in an instant and a new star could emerge years from now — just look at Freeman, who only made his national team debut last summer and ended up a crucial contributor at the World Cup. As is the case with Balogun, there could also be a dual-national out there who can’t break into a top national team and sees a pathway with the USMNT. The latter method isn’t unethical. However, its mercenary nature is an inexcusable demerit against the level of development that the U.S. federation has long been incapable of.

Below are a handful of names that might be worth keeping an eye on/have been mentioned at reputable places and/or Reddit:

• Noahkai Banks, 19 (FC Augsburg, Bundesliga): a 6’4” center back. Not much more to say here, other than, Thank you, Footy Gods!

• Cavan Sullivan, 16 (Philadelphia Union, MLS): This is probably the most rational Reddit analysis I’ve ever read when it comes to tempering expectations for a teenage attacker being touted as The Next Big Thing. Anyway, Poch turning to Reyna, who’s not very mobile but remains a gifted dribbler, is a sign that the USMNT is lacking in dribblers. Let’s hope Sullivan lives up to his potential.

• Diego Luna, 22 (Real Salt Lake, MLS): I felt extremely bad for this guy getting left out of the World Cup squad — Telemundo ads featured him prominently a month ago, and I once snagged a pic of a World Cup-themed rideshare car with his face plastered on it. That said, maybe he’s around in 2030, in his prime, to contribute in the attack. The U.S. likely could’ve used him in some capacity vs. Belgium.

• Caleb Wiley, 21 (Chelsea, EPL): Being a youth player associated with Chelsea used to mean something. But since arriving from MLS’ Atlanta United, Wiley has bounced around both Strasbourg (six appearances) and Watford (15 apps.). He could be a potential Jedi understudy in a few years.

• Damion Downs, 22 (Southampton, EFL Championship): In case Balogun falls off, perhaps this guy steps in. Although, these comments about his output and career moves are a little concerning.

• Cole Campbell, 20 (Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga): If you support a top European club, there’s a decent chance you’ve fielded a player developed by Dortmund. The academy produced Pulisic — perhaps Campbell could be the next star American winger to emerge from BVB.

STORY: The Rise of USMNT's Alex Freeman

The players are solely at fault for the performance: PASS

I think two things are true here: 1.) the USMNT players looked timid and got outplayed, 2.) Pochettino got out-managed.

There’s simply no defending this:

There’s also no defending this:

These are player mental lapses that can’t happen. It’s a deep lack of decisiveness and an unfortunate revelation that the moment was simply too big for some.

That said, let’s be very honest: While it’s encouraging that many members of the USMNT play in Europe’s top leagues, there is currently no superstar who would unquestionably feature in a starting XI for any of the top nations — even though, as we just established, this USMNT starting XI is in its prime. The Adams-McKennie-Tillman midfield trio performed well through previous games, but got completely overrun by Belgium’s Youri Tielemans, Nicolas Raskin, and Hans Vanaken. The Belgians telegraphed seemingly every pass. The USMNT players had very little confidence on the ball and were easily dispossessed any time they tried dribbling by the Belgians. Worst of all, the U.S. players rarely easily controlled the ball with their first touch, which, to me, is the best indicator of the lack of quality. The lights looked too bright for the USMNT and Belgium’s quick response to Tillman’s equalizer seemed to numb them.

Pochettino has coached this roster for nearly two years — he is surely aware of his players’ limitations. His $6.8 million salary reportedly makes him the third-highest paid World Cup coach. He is regarded as being one of the best tacticians in the world; Jedi Robinson is, perhaps, the only player on the USMNT roster who can say his standing among his positional peers is comparable to Poch’s standing among fellow coaches.

Poch’s system set the table for the USMNT’s thrashing of Paraguay. It’s up to a reader’s discretion how much credit Poch deserves for the U.S. scoring early against Paraguay and Australia and maintaining those advantages. Regardless, Poch is paid to be the difference maker on the touchline because the USMNT lacks one on the pitch. He failed to be that on Monday against Belgium.

The lapses in the USMNT backline felt eerily reminiscent of the routine mental lapses in Chelsea’s backline when Poch was in charge. The burden placed on isolated ballcarriers and a lack of dynamic attacking patterns — which allowed Belgium to sit back defensively and play passing lanes — felt eerily similar to what made Poch’s Chelsea attacks annoyingly anemic. I won’t speak for Tottenham fans, but I would bet their squads experienced similar issues under Poch. That said, for someone getting the full Poch Ball experience for the first time, it would appear blatantly obvious to call out the players for not doing their jobs. For those subjected to Poch coaching their clubs before, these are simply typical symptoms of his management.

Monday’s loss to Belgium drops the U.S. to 1-7 against European opponents since Poch took over. At some point a trend is more than that. Similar to the defensive lapses and stagnant movement of off-ball players in possession, it’s now a habit.

Poch is now 17-11-2 since taking over the USMNT. Until this World Cup run, I felt mostly indifferent to him leading the team — I was familiar with his pedigree, aware how stale his tactics can get and his inability to make strong in-game adjustments. His decision to leave out midfield reinforcements was a talking point when he announced the World Cup roster; it might have left him helpless Monday. And while benching Dest for his mental lapses makes sense, pulling him for Reyna — who, despite limited athleticism, did aid possession and helped gain a bit more control of the midfield — was puzzling, considering Dest could be trusted to at least hustle up and down the flank (up to your discretion how effectively). It felt like Pulisic would have been the player to pull, but Poch — the one paid the money to make such a courageous decision — didn’t do so. He did not adequately set up his players to succeed.

Christian Pulisic choked: OPTION

It’s tough for me to say that Pulisic “choked” when it looked obvious (!!!) from the outset that he’s not 100% and his skillset, respectfully, is entirely dependent on his athleticism. (He told reporters he twisted his ankle and knee “in one play.” This, after already being hampered by a calf injury during the tournament.)

However, Pulisic took the pitch Monday, and fair or not, he’s the face of USMNT and this generation of players. He bears the burden of the hype and expectations — and knows this well by now. He left himself open to scrutiny by playing (even if it’s unfair) in what was billed as the biggest match in USMNT World Cup history.

Pulisic didn’t play well. ESPN says he lost possession 11 times in just 45 minutes. Fotmob said he went 2/6 on dribbles and was dispossessed twice. He got hooked after 59 minutes.

This isn’t basketball, though. Singular players who can take over a game and flip it on its head by themselves are excruciatingly rare. Pulisic, occasionally capable of those gamebreaker moments in years past, is simply not that player anymore and hasn’t been for a few years. The injuries have mounted; who knows if the weight of the expectations have, too. It’s a disappointing end to Pulisic’s World Cup, but I think saying he specifically choked is hyperbolic.