Postcards from the World Cup: Seeing the U.S., Can...
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- 2026 FIFA World Cup becomes the first tournament co-hosted by three nations — the United States, Canada, and Mexico — with Mark Ogden reporting from Los Angeles, Guadalajara, and Vancouver.
- Folarin Balogun scored twice in the USMNT's 4-1 win over Paraguay at SoFi Stadium on June 12 before 70,942 fans, while Christian Pulisic starred for 45 minutes before limping off with a calf injury.
- USMNT opener tickets sold out at extremes — $580 for obstructed views and $8,050 for Category 1 — pricing out young American fans like Chelsea supporter Edward, a Santa Monica waiter who watched from home.
- Families of the disappeared plastered faces of 16,000+ missing persons across Guadalajara in football sticker-style posters, with Amnesty International Mexico's Edith Olivares saying some families consider hosting 'sportswashing' but chose to use it to pressure the Mexican government and UN.
- Mexico beat South Korea 1-0 in Guadalajara on June 18 to reach the round of 32, while security advisor Steve Woodman tied the city's disappearance crisis partly to forced recruitment by the Jalisco Cartel.
- Canada lost 2-1 to Switzerland in Vancouver on June 24, surrendering the home-field edge Jesse Marsch's side had just earned with a first-ever World Cup knockout-stage qualification from a 6-0 rout of Qatar.
Why it matters: Young American fans like Chelsea supporter Edward got priced out of the US opener ($580 obstructed, $8,050 Category 1), while in Guadalajara 16,000+ missing-persons families co-opted the tournament against Mexico's government despite calling it 'sportswashing.' Canada gave up the home edge they'd just earned with a first-ever knockout qualification, losing 2-1 to Switzerland.
