World Cup is kicking off. Which team should win? Tell us. | Opinion
I played soccer as a child – and still do as an adult – and watched it grow into a major cultural influence. Are you as excited as I am for the 2026 World Cup? Who deserves to win? Tell us below.
Joel BurgessHere it comes! The biggest ever of the world's biggest single-sport tournaments will kick off on June 11. The 48-country FIFA World Cup will play out for more than a month with soccer games scattered around a joint three-nation venue of the United States, Mexico and Canada.
As a fan, I am – to say the least – excited. Just thinking about the first U.S. game June 12 against Paraguay gives me the tingly out-of-body feeling I got as a child when I jumped out of bed early and put on my shin guards and cleats two hours before my game. Or after persuading our high school to add soccer as a sport, our team stepped onto the field in our uniforms for the first time. Or even now, when I lace up my cleats for adult recreational soccer, and have to tell myself to dial it back a bit and remember I have to get up in the morning and do my actual job.
Growing up in the 1980s in North Carolina, I've watched soccer blow up from a niche sport in the United States to a major cultural influence. (The term "soccer mom" wasn't part of our vocabulary when I was a kid.)
So, what about you, USA TODAY readers? Where are you on the World Cup? Are you like me, charting out your schedule for the next several weeks based on the games? Or maybe you're just moderately interested in the tournament and might tune in for a few matches? Or maybe you find all this noise about kicking a ball pretty annoying and want it to hurry up and go away?
Excited about the World Cup? Or not so much? Tell us below.
For our latest Forum roundup, we'd like to hear your opinions about the World Cup, soccer and its influence. Tell us if you are watching and which team you think will win. And who are you rooting for? What kind of influence do you think soccer has had on our culture? Is it positive? Negative? And what lasting mark, if any, do you think the 2026 World Cup will leave?
You can reach out in one of three ways: Fill out the form below, send us an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Forum World Cup” or leave us a voicemail at (202) 655-3923. We (real people) may reach out to you about your response. We'll publish a collection of these answers in an upcoming column.
Joel Burgess is a Voices editor for USA TODAY Opinion.