The 2026 World Cup got the final it deserved: 120 minutes of awful football — a war of attrition, pockmarked by Argentina’s antagonism — and a fitting conclusion to a joyless and forgettable tournament that, above all else, spotlighted the blatant ineptness of the world governing body, FIFA, and the main host, the United States. In the course of 39 days, the soul of the World Cup withered away.On the West Coast, Iran, an Asian powerhouse, were subjected to insidious treatment by the US authorities. At the last minute, they had to shift their base camp to Tijuana, Mexico. They had to leave the US immediately after their matches. They were held up at the airport. Mehdi Taremi called it ‘a disaster’ and when I asked the Iranian captain, after their opening match against New Zealand, why it had taken five hours to complete the journey from Tijuana to Los Angeles — it typically takes 45 minutes — he responded: “What do you think?”US immigration turned Omar Artan, one of Africa’s top referees, back at the border and banned him from the tournament. Had the pestering of the Iranians and the exclusion of the Somalian referee not been a breach of the host contract? FIFA’s media office did not reply to a series of questions.As ever, once the ball began to roll, the focus shifted because fans and the global audiences remain deeply attached to the unrivalled spectacle of the World Cup. It captures global attention like nothing else. Football has become a religion and a marker of time: where were you when Diego Maradona dribbled past England in the 1986 World Cup? Did you watch Dennis Bergkamp’s sublime goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup? Or what about the 7-1 scoreline at the 2014 World Cup?In North America, Cape Verde impressed in Group H. They held Spain and progressed to the knockout stages. Even so, the bloated group stages of this 48-team format meant an onslaught of matches. FIFA achieved the unthinkable: no longer did every World Cup match seem to matter.Four exhilarating weeks stretched into a 5.5-week slog of matches that often felt inconsequential. Qatar-Bosnia, Paraguay-Turkey and Uzbekistan-DR Congo did not entice. The World Cup’s USP — risk and jeopardy — was sold off.Excitement took over in the knockout stages. Tales of the extraordinary ticket prices — milking fans for revenue, commercial breaks dressed up as hydration breaks, and allowing American rights holder Fox to cash in — and FIFA’s unsavoury relationship with prediction markets — a new form of gambling — were beginning to morph into the background even against the backdrop of Aramco-sponsored kickoffs and $20 beers at the venues.The world remained hooked. In the round of 32, the Cape Verdians came within touching distance of an all-time World Cup upset against Argentina, capitulating 3-2 in extra time against the then defending champions. A dysfunctional Brazil eliminated Japan, Asia’s best team, 2-1 and Norway eliminated Ivory Coast with the same scoreline. The Scandinavians rowed their way through the tournament and proffered star power through Erling Haaland.Star-obsessed America quickly found a new icon in the towering Viking striker. Pelé, David Beckham and Lionel Messi had been football’s standard-bearers, but this tournament changed the equation: Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham, all became household names. A lot of Americans, wearing Mbappe shirts, adopted France as their second team. Yamal’s big sponsorship deal with Adidas handed him great visibility. Adidas built a huge cutout of a celebrating Yamal, floating it down New York’s East River on a barge. But before the round of 16, FIFA committed a cardinal sin, one that will forever cast a dark shadow over the 2026 tournament and keeps prompting existential questions over the organisation’s governance and the future of its president, Gianni Infantino. At the centre of it all? The one-match red card suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun, who in his own right had become one of his team’s faces. In a phone call with Infantino, US President Donald Trump demanded a review of the suspension — and, oh surprise — FIFA duly obliged, explaining that the chair of its disciplinary committee had taken the decision completely independently.It was one of the most bewildering moments in World Cup history. FIFA and Infantino defied their own rules to manipulate their own flagship competition at the request of the US President, who has little interest in the game. It amounted to political interference and went against one of FIFA’s own tenets — that sports and politics should always be separated.From the ousting of Miguel Maduro as head of the governance committee in 2017 over the refusal to compensate migrant workers in Qatar for their suffering, to the fast-tracking of the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, murky deals and backroom politicking have been so central to Infantino’s FIFA that the culture of his predecessor, Sepp Blatter, looks almost quaint.Undermining the sporting integrity of the World Cup was a new, unfathomable low, one so grave that it may come to define the Infantino era. What, if anything, could be trusted at this World Cup? The principles of fair play, on which football rests, were abandoned. Were matches suspect? Following the Balogun saga, World Cup conspiracy theories, a fixture at every global tournament, exploded. Did the referee favour Argentina? Did FIFA want Lionel Messi in the final?FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino (right), defied their own rules to manipulate their flagship competition at the request of US President Donald Trump, who has little interest in the game. ReutersIt was the second time in a matter of months that Infantino succeeded to cut through to a global audience, far beyond football. Last December, at the World Cup draw in Washington DC, Infantino awarded the maiden FIFA peace prize to Trump.At the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan, I doorstepped Infantino and asked him twice: “Following the Balogun case, will you resign?” He batted off the questions and ran. Infantino even departed the World Cup briefly to mourn the death of the father of Qatar’s Emir. In total, he racked up more than 112,000 kilometres in a private jet provided by Qatar Airways.The FIFA president, however, doubled down on his Faustian alliance with Trump. On the eve of the World Cup final, the pair were the protagonists at a ‘FIFA reception’ at Trump Tower, kicking off a MAGA weekend. The US President attended the World Cup final, a grim spectacle with an overload of celebrities and over-aged stars in a rather tasteless half-time show that extended the break to 27 minutes.Tom Cruise delivered a pale speech and landed on a FIFA platitude — football unites the world. Argentina saw it differently. They wanted a second crown. Their dramatic timings and improbable comebacks had become a centerpiece of the tournament. The South Americans decided to fight their way to glory — a painful consequence of the refereeing leniency received earlier in the tournament — but butchering their opponents didn’t quite work.They became the first football team ever to not register an attempt on target in a World Cup final. Sensing that the title was slipping away, the defending world champions shredded their decorum, but the bloodless Spanish maintained their composure and prevailed 1-0 in extra time.Under the regal eye of King Felipe of Spain, Infantino and Trump four-handedly presented Rodri the trophy. FIFA pocketed colossal revenues and Infantino beamed at the thought that everything might be done all over again in 2038 — perhaps with an expanded 64-team field.It’s one way for Infantino to keep the money flowing to the 211 member associations and retain their loyalty, but as the sun set over the MetLife Stadium and the tournament, it was impossible to subdue a profound sadness: the World Cup had lost its soul.— Samindra Kunti is a freelance journalist covering international soccer