The World Cup is back in North America for the first time in over 30 years. It’s the most popular sporting event on the globe and with 16 additional teams competing this year, it will be the biggest World Cup to date. But in Trump’s America, visa issues and geopolitical tensions are creating additional challenges for the teams and the fans.
Today on The Sunday Story, we bring two of NPR’s biggest soccer nerds onto the show to talk about the competition, the entertainment, and the cultural significance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
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Aerial view of the World Cup Logo formed by performers during the Opening Ceremony for the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final on 17th June 1994 at the Soldier Field stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Todd Rosenberg/Allsport/Getty Images hide caption
Todd Rosenberg/Allsport/Getty Images
The World Cup is back in North America for the first time in over 30 years. It's the most popular sporting event on the globe and with 16 additional teams competing this year, it will be the biggest World Cup to date. But in Trump's America, visa issues and geopolitical tensions are creating additional challenges for the teams and the fans.
Today on The Sunday Story, we bring two of NPR's biggest soccer nerds onto the show to talk about the competition, the entertainment, and the cultural significance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
This episode was produced by Andrew Mambo and edited by Liana Simstrom and Jenny Schmidt. The engineer was Jimmy Keeley.
We'd love to hear from you. Send us an email at TheSundayStory@npr.org.
Listen to Up First on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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