The World Cup is almost here. Here’s what to watch. | The Excerpt
Dana TaylorOn the Wednesday, April 8, 2026, episode of The Excerpt podcast: The World Cup is just over two months away. The 48 teams that were selected will be competing in a record 104 matches across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. What storylines can we expect? Seth Vertelney, Soccer Editor for USA TODAY Sports, joins The Excerpt to talk all things World Cup.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Dana Taylor:
The World Cup is officially only 64 days away, and as of last week, we now know the 48 teams that will be competing in a record 104 matches across 16 cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. What storylines can we expect?
Dana Taylor:
Hello, and welcome to USA TODAY's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Wednesday, April 8th, 2026. Joining me to talk all things World Cup is Seth Vertelney. Seth is the soccer editor for USA TODAY Sports. Seth, it's great to have you back on The Excerpt.
Seth Vertelney:
Thanks for having me.
Dana Taylor:
Let's start with the final playoff rounds that wrapped up last week. What were the biggest surprises there?
Seth Vertelney:
I think you have to start with Italy losing to Bosnia, and Herzegovina to fail to qualify for the World Cup for the third consecutive time, which is pretty crazy to think about because Italy historically has been one of world soccer's biggest powers. They've won the World Cup four times, and now they have failed to qualify three consecutive times. Their next possible appearance will be in 2030, which will come 16 years after their last World Cup. In 2014, Italy had to go through a playoff again, which they have done the previous two times in World Cup qualifying. And just like the previous two times, they lost. This time they lost to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a penalty shootout. So, it's going to be another long four years for Italy.
Seth Vertelney:
Also in the playoffs in Europe, I wouldn't call it a surprise, but Turkey beat Kosovo to advance to the World Cup. This one is going to have big implications for the US national team because Turkey advanced into the US's group by winning that game. The US was drawn with Australia and Paraguay in the World Cup draw back in December, but they didn't know the fourth team in that group until last week. And it's now confirmed that it's Turkey, which is probably the most difficult opponent that it could have been from the four-team group. So, the US is going to have a big challenge against Turkey in their last group stage match.
Dana Taylor:
All of us here at USA TODAY, of course, are rooting for Team USA. Focusing on the men's national team, they didn't look great in the recent friendlies. This is an indicator of the US's success in the tournament.
Seth Vertelney:
Yeah. The US really challenged themselves with their last two matches before Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino names the World Cup roster facing Belgium and Portugal, two top 10 teams. In those games, Belgium and Portugal looked like top 10 teams. Belgium beat the US five to two. Portugal beat the US two-zero. There were some positive moments for the US during those games despite the scorelines. I think if you're looking to be optimistic, you can say that there were moments that the US played evenly with those teams, and the moments that Belgium and Portugal looked better, the US can use as learning experiences. But it was a wake-up call ahead of the World Cup. If the US wants to go on the run that they are hoping for at this tournament, deep into the knockout rounds, quarter finals, semi-finals, they are going to have to beat one or two teams like Belgium and Portugal.
Seth Vertelney:
Right now, I think from those two games and from the US as results over the last several years, it's pretty clear that there's a gap between teams like Belgium and Portugal and the US. So, there's definitely work to be done with only a couple months left ahead of the World Cup.
Dana Taylor:
Seth, as you said, Coach Pochettino is leading this squad. He's responsible for deciding the final roster. It's still early, but should we expect any surprises when the final roster is revealed?
Seth Vertelney:
Yeah, Pochettino has brought in a number of new players since he took over the team in the fall of 2024. He's experimented with different guys from different leagues, different formations. I think at this point, there probably won't be a lot of big surprises on the final roster. When you look at the players that Pochettino called in for these two friendlies against Belgium and Portugal, the final roster is probably going to be comprised a lot from those players. There is still, of course, the potential for injuries. We just saw this week that Patrick Agyemang, who was likely to make the World Cup team as a striker, suffered a serious Achilles injury and he's out for the World Cup. Hopefully from the US' standpoint, there won't be any more injuries.
Seth Vertelney:
But as far as surprises, the only other name that I would watch is Noahkai Banks. He is a 19-year-old defender who is having a really good season in Germany. Pochettino wanted to call him up for this most recent camp. But Banks, who is a dual national eligible for the US and Germany, turned down that call-up, saying he needed some time to decide which team he wants to represent. I think if he decides to go with the US, he would be a good candidate to make the World Cup roster, but it's unclear if that's going to happen between now and the World Cup.
Dana Taylor:
There's been a lot of talk about Iran, whether or not the team will even be allowed to come to the US for the competition. What's the latest there?
Seth Vertelney:
It's definitely not an ideal situation for anybody so close to the World Cup, because there's just a lot of uncertainty. Really, we're in an unprecedented situation when it comes to a host country starting a war with a World Cup participant just months before the tournament begins. We've heard a lot from Iran about potentially withdrawing from the tournament. We've also heard the potential of Iran trying to move their games to Mexico. All three of their games for the group stage are currently scheduled in the United States. I think that the Mexico option is pretty much a non-starter, especially this close to the World Cup. Logistically, there are just so many hurdles that would have to be overcome there that I think it's pretty unlikely that it's going to happen.
Seth Vertelney:
As far as Iran withdrawing from the World Cup, really at this point, the ball is in their court, because even though they have said that they might do it, even some officials saying that it's likely they will do it, they haven't done it. So now, two months ahead of the World Cup, Iran is scheduled to travel to the US. I don't know what is going to happen between now and June. I don't think anybody really knows. But for now, Iran is in the tournament and we'll just have to see how things unfold.
Dana Taylor:
Are there any other teams that might be facing visa issues?
Seth Vertelney:
I don't think any teams are facing visa issues with the potential exception of Iran. President Trump has a number of countries on a travel ban. The first group of those countries were announced last summer, and then he added more countries in December. That travel ban does contain a carve-out for teams traveling to the World Cup, as well as coaches, support staff, family members, and so I don't think it's going to be an issue getting these players into the country. There are four countries that are on this travel ban who most likely won't be able to have any fans that are from those countries come into the United States, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Iran, and Haiti. That doesn't necessarily mean that there won't be fans of those teams at their games, because there are, of course, big expat communities across the US and in other countries.
Seth Vertelney:
But as far as the travel ban goes, it seems unlikely that fans who live in those countries and are nationals of those countries will be able to enter the US for the World Cup.
Dana Taylor:
President Trump's cracked down on illegal immigration and sent chills through immigrant communities across America, particularly those from Latin America where the World Cup is so popular. What are you hearing on that front?
Seth Vertelney:
The administration has been pretty vague in terms of what kind of immigration activity will take place at these games. ICE is a part of the security apparatus for the World Cup. And that, in any other context, would be just a normal thing. But of course, ICE has become very politically sensitive and delicate for many reasons, based on the kind of activities that they have been conducting across the country since the second Trump administration began. Trump officials are not ruling out the possibility of ICE activity at this World Cup. And I think it's important to clarify that they haven't said that it's definitely going to happen, but they're being purposefully vague.
Seth Vertelney:
I think based on the anxiety that a lot of communities have around immigration enforcement in our country right now, it is going to send a chilling effect through a lot of communities.
Dana Taylor:
Let's pivot now and talk about some of the players to watch in the games. Who will you have your eye on?
Seth Vertelney:
Yeah, I've spotlighted a few players here. The first one that we have to talk about is Kylian Mbappé, the forward for France and Real Madrid. He has already put together a resume that really puts him among the all-time greats in this game, even though he's only 27. He's played at two World Cups in his career. He's made the final in both of them. He won in 2018 and then lost in 2022, even though he scored a hat trick in the final. Mbappé is going to be one of the best players at this tournament, France is going to be one of the best teams, and he can really cement his legacy as an all-time great if he can lead France to the title.
Seth Vertelney:
Another player that I'm going to be watching closely is Harry Kane with England. Another guy that would be considered an all-time great, England's all-time leading scorer. Currently, he's with Bayern Munich in Germany, scoring tons and tons of goals. He's 32 years old, so he's getting close to the end of his prime, but still playing at such a high level, scoring goals consistently. With England, he has come close to winning tournaments many times, but has yet to bring home that elusive trophy. England, again, will be among the favorites and we'll see if Harry Kane can lean them to a title.
Seth Vertelney:
Another player that is going to have a lot of eyes on them is Lamine Yamal, an 18-year-old with Spain. Already, despite his age, has established himself as one of the best in the world. This will be his first World Cup. At his first European championships a couple years ago, he led Spain to the title, even though he was 16 for a lot of that tournament. He turned 17 during the tournament. He will have a lot of eyes on him this summer.
Seth Vertelney:
When it comes to the US, you have to talk about Christian Pulisic. He's been the face of this team for about a decade. Like Mbappé, he's 27. But probably the US's best hope of advancing far in the tournament would be Pulisic going on a scoring run and being a difference-maker like he can be.
Seth Vertelney:
And then the last player, I am actually going to cheat and name two players. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been linked together for much of their careers, the two best players of their generation, two of the best all time. This is probably going to be the last World Cup for both of them. Messi, of course, won it in 2022 for his first World Cup, and Ronaldo still looking for that first World Cup with Portugal. Both Argentina and Portugal will be among the favorites this summer.
Dana Taylor:
The ticket prices have been a sore spot for the games. Fans have been complaining about that for weeks now. Has the organization been able to get prices down yet? What's the issue here? Why is it such a persistent problem?
Seth Vertelney:
FIFA set these prices really high. That was by design. They are categorically much higher than they have been in previous World Cups. If you ask FIFA, they would say that part of the reason for that is that a lot of the money from the World Cup is reinvested and redistributed to different federations across the world, and FIFA's a nonprofit and needs this money to keep the game growing at all levels. But clearly, it's not all going to be redistributed. These ticket prices have caused a lot of headaches for fans, because even games that feature some low-profile teams are in the three figures, even mid-three figures for the cheapest ticket. It's becoming a situation where it's just not affordable for the average fan to go to games.
Seth Vertelney:
Back in 1994, the last time that the US hosted the World Cup, there were a lot of fans that were introduced to the game for the first time and became lifelong fans, and because of the ticket prices, it's going to be a lot harder to do that this time around. We'll have to watch and see over the next couple months if those prices go down at all on secondary markets. FIFA's mindset has been to try to make these prices as high as possible and make as much money as possible.
Dana Taylor:
Are you seeing an issue with getting tickets in the first place? What's the availability for tickets like right now?
Seth Vertelney:
Yeah, there's two ways to get it through FIFA. Last week, FIFA actually opened tickets up on a first-come-first-serve basis. It was the first time in this entire process that fans have been able to just select a game, select seats, and buy tickets right away. Everything had previously been through a lottery process. Now, fans can go onto FIFA's ticket website and choose the game that they want. If they go through FIFA's regular website, they're going to find a limited selection of games and tickets. FIFA has encouraged fans to check frequently, because they'll be releasing tickets on a rolling basis. But it's difficult to find a lot of games right now through that process and difficult to find cheap tickets through that process.
Seth Vertelney:
The other thing that FIFA has available now is a resale site. This is FIFA's answer to third-party resellers like StubHub. FIFA has said that this is the most secure way for fans to buy tickets on the resale market. If you go there, there will be all 104 games available from the World Cup. Those prices are fluctuating wildly because the sellers themselves are setting them. There are potentially deals to be had there, but again, I think what we've seen more than anything are just really high prices there. I think that is one area where fans will want to really keep a close eye on as the tournament gets closer, because it is possible that if there is a lower demand for some of these games that the prices will dip down.
Seth Vertelney:
But again, I think the overarching theme here is tickets are scarce and tickets are expensive.
Dana Taylor:
While the games are getting close, what are you most looking forward to with this World Cup?
Seth Vertelney:
I'm interested to see how the expanded format works. This is going to be the first World Cup with 48 teams. The last World Cup had 32, so that's a huge jump. That expanded format has meant that we're going to see some newcomers at the World Cup, teams that have never played before. And then we're also going to see some countries that haven't been at the World Cup in a really long time. It's always interesting to have some new blood in and see what their fan bases are going to be like, what their players are going to be like, how they're going to perform on this big stage that they have never seen before.
Seth Vertelney:
The group stage is going to be different, because 32 of the 48 teams are going to advance to the knockout round, so there'll be more opportunity for teams to play these do-or-die matches with higher stakes. It should result in some interesting and unique situations that we haven't seen before at a World Cup.
Dana Taylor:
Seth Vertelney is the soccer editor for USA TODAY Sports. Seth, thank you so much for coming back on The Excerpt.
Seth Vertelney:
Thanks for having me.
Dana Taylor:
Thanks to our senior producer, Kaely Monahan for her production assistance. Our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to [email protected]. Thanks for listening. I'm Dana Taylor. I'll be back tomorrow morning with another episode of USA TODAY's The Excerpt.