USMNT’s World Cup, Arsenal’s title challenge and Real’s power struggle: soccer questions for 2026

The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions every year. In today's Pitch Points column, we address three of the big ones for 2026

You may have heard there's a World Cup this year. After all the debate about ticket prices and peace prizes and cooling breaks, an actual soccer tournament will kick off. That's when the US, both as a national team and a host nation, will truly be judged; when the 2026 World Cup will be deemed a soaring success or a grotesque failure. There will be no in between. No nuance. That vanished from public discourse a long time ago.