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By Jesus Mesa
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For two years, the loudest noise around the first 48-team World Cup was complaints. Critics warned that expansion would dilute the field, that dynamic ticket pricing would lock out ordinary fans, that summer heat across North America would endanger players, and that a politically divided United States was the wrong host at the wrong time.
Less than a week in, the tournament is making a quieter case for itself.
The early returns point in one direction. Goals are flowing at a pace unseen in half a century, underdogs are holding the game's powers to draws, the biggest matches are selling out, and visiting fans are turning host cities into street parties.
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The structural complaints have not gone away, from cooling breaks to the Trump administration's immigration enforcement measures. But the opening days have undercut much of the gloom that preceded them.
World Cup 2026 Goals: The Highest Scoring Rate Since 1970
The opening round has produced goals at a rate not seen in decades. Through the first wave of group matches, the World Cup was averaging 2.94 goals per game, according to tournament records. No World Cup has finished at that mark since 1970, when the finals in Mexico averaged 2.97.
A caveat sits inside the number. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil was also averaging 2.94 goals at its halfway point before settling at 2.67 by the final. Early rates tend to fall as the knockout rounds tighten.
For now, the scoring has been steady and, at times, lopsided. Germany put seven past debutant Curacao. Sweden beat Tunisia 5-1.
World Cup Upsets: Cape Verde, Qatar and Egypt Stun the Favorites
The bigger surprise is who has been taking points off the favorites. Fears that a larger field would mean a procession of mismatches have collided with a run of results going the other way.
Cape Verde, a nation of about half a million people playing its first World Cup match, held European champions Spain to a scoreless draw in Atlanta. Many pundits described it as one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history. Spain took 27 shots and did not score.
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Egypt led Belgium before Romelu Lukaku's introduction rescued a 1-1 draw. Qatar held Switzerland 1-1. Japan came from behind to draw 2-2 with the Netherlands, ending a Dutch streak of never losing a World Cup match in which they had led twice.
The pattern has a regional shape. Through Monday's matches, no Asian team had lost. South Korea beat the Czech Republic, while Qatar, Japan and Iran each took points from their openers, three of those results against European opposition. European and South American teams, by contrast, were averaging barely more than a point per game, well behind the rest of the field.
World Cup 2026 Ticket Prices: Strong Demand
Groups, including Football Supporters Europe and U.S. lawmakers, have complained that the pricing system locks out ordinary fans. Even so, demand has been real, if uneven. Resale prices for the biggest games have climbed. Mexico's matches have traded at about four times their original price, according to data reviewed by Newsweek, and the average get-in price across group-stage games rose 14 percent over 30 days, according to TicketData.
"The FIFA World Cup thus far has been phenomenal. It's easy to see why prices are surging... Fans are enthusiastic, passionate, and full of life," Ticket Talk host Scott Friedman, one of the leading voices on ticketing markets in the U.S., wrote Monday.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in April that around 5 million tickets had been sold, and marquee fixtures have sold out. Time has borne him out.
World Cup Fans Go Viral: Scotland in Boston, Algeria in Kansas
Off the field, visiting supporters have become the tournament's breakout story.
Thousands of Scotland fans, at their first men's World Cup in a generation, took over Boston before a match against Haiti. They packed Fenway Park, played bagpipes at City Hall Plaza, and turned a Boston police sergeant juggling a ball into a viral clip.
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Two German fans traveling as Freddy and Fiago have documented a road trip through the American South and Midwest, marveling at roadside attractions from Stone Mountain to Buc-ee's.
In Lawrence, Kansas, residents embraced the Algerian team, which based itself in the city for the tournament. Videos of locals welcoming Algerian supporters spread online. "Welcome to the United States. Welcome to Kansas," one resident told a local news station.
TV Ratings: Record Audiences for Fox, Telemundo
The opening matches delivered the largest American television audiences in World Cup history. The Mexico-South Africa game attracted 12.1 million viewers on Telemundo and Peacock, making it the most-watched World Cup game ever to run on Spanish-language TV in the United States.
The United States' opening match against Paraguay drew nearly 25 million viewers in the U.S. Fox's English-language coverage averaged 15.99 million viewers across its flagship network, Fox One, and Tubi, setting a record for a U.S. men's World Cup match. Peak viewership reached 18.86 million.
Including the 8.9 million viewers who watched on Telemundo and Peacock, the total audience approached 25 million according to Nielsen. That was roughly 2 million more viewers than Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs.
The numbers are still preliminary. They are not final figures that involve Nielsen Big Data + Panel methodology, considered official currency across the media business, with that data expected later in the week.
Hydration Breaks, Immigration: The Problems That Remain
Not everything is working. FIFA's mandatory three-minute hydration breaks, called at the 22nd minute of each half regardless of conditions, have drawn criticism for interrupting play and opening advertising windows. France manager Didier Deschamps was blunt. "No matter which team, if they're on a roll, three minutes ruin everything," he said.
Still, the tournament's most serious complaint remains tied to the Trump administration's immigration policies, which have affected not only fans but also players competing in the competition. Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha, named player of the match after his seven saves against Spain, said his mother could not travel to the United States because of the cost of a visa, after the U.S. added Cape Verde in January to a list of countries whose citizens must post a returnable bond of up to $15,000 before traveling.
"My mom could not be here either due to a visa issue and the money we had to pay for it," Vozinha said. "We did not manage to do this in time."
Iran's federation also said its allocation of World Cup tickets was withdrawn days before its opener against New Zealand, calling the move contrary to the principles of fair treatment in international competition. Several members of the Iranian delegation's support staff were denied entry into the United States, prompting the team to base itself in Mexico and commute across the border for matches inside the U.S.
It is early. Group play is not finished; the knockout rounds will test the goal rate, and structural complaints about pricing and scheduling persist. But the tournament that arrived buried in skepticism has, for now, given its hosts something to cheer.
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