World Cup 2026: Five big questions as football's biggest tournament kicks off

SINGAPORE: The wait is almost over and football's biggest tournament is once again upon us.

It will be a World Cup of many firsts.

The first to be hosted by three countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States; the first to see 48 nations compete for the top prize; and the first to have a final with a half-time show.

But amid the promise of a global spectacle, doubts remain. Ahead of the tournament's opener between Mexico and South Africa, CNA's Matthew Mohan lists five things to keep an eye on.

WILL EXPANSION MEAN ENTERTAINMENT?

The brainchild of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, the expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams is one which has divided opinion.

On the one hand, it means opportunities for new countries, with Cape Verde, Curacao, Uzbekistan and Jordan set to make their World Cup debuts.

The tournament is now more diverse, with 16 teams from Europe, 10 from Africa, nine from Asia, and six each from South America and Concacaf, as well as one from Oceania.

However, critics of the expansion question whether this makes the tournament less competitive, as the gap between the top teams and the rest is wider.

Curacao fell 4-1 to Scotland in a recent friendly, with Jordan going down by the same score to Switzerland.

Will unheralded nations be able to upset the odds, or will the heavyweights steamroll their way through the tournament? The jury remains out.

HOW WILL AFC TEAMS FARE?

At the last edition of the World Cup, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) teams showed some mettle.

In the group stages, Saudi Arabia stunned the world and Argentina with a 2-1 win, while South Korea, Australia, and Japan safely navigated the first hurdle.

Japan's performances were the most eye-catching of the two, as they topped their group ahead of Spain, Germany and Costa Rica.

But the Samurai Blue had their hearts broken as they were eliminated on penalties by Croatia, while South Korea was thumped by Brazil, and Australia was edged out by Argentina.

Fast forward four years, and Japan and South Korea look the most likely AFC sides to progress to the round of 32.

All eyes, in particular, will be on Japan, who are grouped with the Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia.

Should they make it out of the group stages, a potential clash with Brazil and Morocco could await Hajime Moriyasu's men in the round of 32.

In what would possibly be Son Heung-min's last World Cup, the Taegeuk Warriors will need their talisman to deliver again. On paper, they have what it takes to make it out of an open group consisting of South Africa, Czech Republic and Mexico.

South Korea might have an easier route than Japan if they finish top two in their group, and potentially face the runners-up of Group B (Switzerland, Canada, Qatar, Bosnia and Herzegovina) or one of the best third-placed teams.

JUST HOW HOT WILL IT BE?

With the tournament played in the North American summer, heat and humidity could prove a problem for some countries. This is particularly the case for games played in cities where there is no air conditioning in the stadium.

"We are not used to being in this kind of heat and humidity, and even altitude if we play in Mexico," said England head coach Thomas Tuchel on Jun 1.

"There will be a lot of challenges in this World Cup. The heat is one of them, but we are prepared already."

Such concerns are understandable, given the high temperatures at the Club World Cup in the US last year.

For this year's World Cup, an analysis by climate research group World Weather Attribution found that roughly a quarter of the 104 matches are likely to be played in conditions exceeding safety limits recommended by FIFPRO.

About five matches could take place in conditions considered unsafe, where postponement would be advised, the researchers said.

In order to prioritise player welfare, FIFA will implement mandatory three-minute hydration breaks midway through each half of the games. These stoppages will take place regardless of weather conditions.

"The use of hydration breaks is part of a focused attempt to ensure the best possible conditions for players, drawing upon the experiences of previous tournaments, including the recent FIFA Club World Cup, which took place in the United States last summer," said football's governing body.

WILL TICKET PRICES COME DOWN?

One of the biggest talking points at this edition of the World Cup has been ticket prices.

FIFA tickets are available in four categories, with the best seats typically in Category 1.

At the last World Cup in Qatar, group stage Category 1 tickets cost about US$220. Tickets of the same category for the final were about US$1,600.

For this World Cup, dynamic pricing is being used for the first time. It means ticket prices may vary dramatically, both across games and even for a given game over time.

The initial baseline for Category 1 tickets was reportedly about US$600 when they first went on sale in the autumn of 2025, but now they generally sell for over US$1,000 and sometimes much higher.

Prices for some games have come down on FIFA's resale platform and other secondary markets as the tournament nears, with some adopting a wait-and-see approach to buy tickets.

With some fans priced out, there have been reports that tickets for numerous games have yet to sell out.

A report by The Athletic late last month said that thousands of tickets have not been sold for the US' opener with Paraguay, with data suggesting that the game is not on pace to sell out at current prices and purchasing rates.

WHAT WILL TIGHTENED SECURITY LOOK LIKE?

Given the size and scale of this tournament, safety is one of the biggest issues that organisers need to tackle.

Aside from scaled-up security operations, patrolling robo-dogs and strict access controls, the US Federal Aviation Administration will bar drones over World Cup matches and related fan events across the country to fortify security.

Across the border, close to 100,000 security officers will be deployed by the government to the three host cities, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, as well as other places hosting training centres and team base camps, reported CNN.

When it comes to Canada, the government will allocate up to US$145 million for security during the World Cup, the country's public safety minister announced previously.

There have also been fears over possible civil immigration enforcement at games in the United States.

However, this will not happen at least for World Cup games or events in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said earlier this month.

Immigration raids by masked ICE agents in Los Angeles last year sparked a wave of demonstrations in the region.

"I personally called the head of Homeland Security here for the L.A. region and what he stated is that there will be federal agents ... because it's going to take all of us to make sure that all the venues, the scoped and unscoped events, are secure," he said.

"But in regard to civil immigration enforcement, they told us that specifically would not be occurring at any of the games."

Subscribe to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and catch all 104 matches live on mewatch. Visit mewatch.sg/fifaworldcup for more details.

Source: CNA/Agencies/mt(mi)