The club World Cup is the test run for the World Cup next year. One thing is clear: it will be a tournament with unusual vastness and unusual weather. But also a World Cup full of volume and passion – thanks to the South Americans.
Alexi Lalas has always been extrovert. At the 1994 World Cup, the defender of the US national team noticed his long, horse-drawn hair and an equally distinctive goatee. In the meantime, he has been explaining the soccer as a TV expert for many years – very patriotic with an extra praise pathos. He was convinced, according to Lalas, that the 2026 World Cup “Not just the best of all time” become, but also “The biggest event in human history.”
Typical loudspeaker Lalas. And typical American self -esteem. In the land of the supposedly unlimited possibilities, everything has to be bigger, more and more beautiful and crazy – and not only since the days of Donald Trump as president. The 2026 World Cup in XXL format fits. It will be the biggest tournament in football history so far, because it is played for the first time with 48 teams and for the first time in three countries – USA, Mexico, Canada. The majority of the 104 games takes place in the USA (78).
Test run becomes a stress test
The FIFA club World Cup is considered a test run for the coming summer. They also have 32 teams in the format for the first time “Extra Large”. And the test run sometimes became a stress test. He has shown that a world championship with unfamiliar weather and unusual expanses is coming to footballers and fans – but certainly also an event with loud and passionate fans from South America.
The euphoria and enthusiasm of the followers of the four Brazilian and two Argentine clubs were the great theme of the previous tournament in addition to the external conditions. And they give an idea of what will be going on in June and July if the fans from Uruguay, Colombia or Ecuador will also be there – or that from Mexico, presumably in the six -digit range.
Loud and passionate
Around 15,000 Boca Juniors’ followers in Nashville had the famous country music bars in their hands, as many fans of River Plate in Seattle loudly “The athletic” For a “Mass pilgrimage” taken care of. On Monday, thousands of flumes then joyfully singed and swiveling through the city center of Charlotte after the 2-0 round of the round against Inter Milan. “They show America what true love and passion for football is”sports journalist Kyle Bonn told Sportschau.de.
The 36-year-old lives in Charlotte and reports for the online portal “The Sporting News” About the club World Cup. As an American, he had to explain to his English colleagues, who were on site for the round of 16 Chelsea against Benfica Lisbon, that summer thunderstorms and the resulting interruptions in the southern states of the United States are nothing special.
Interruption? Because of a thunderstorm?
Because the English were shocked when the referee ordered the players in the 86th minute in the cabins and the approximately 26,000 spectators were even asked to leave their seats in the stadium and to look for protection in the arena circulation. What the hell? Because of a thunderstorm? Are they crazy? In England, according to the unanimous tenor, the game would have been continued and the game was brought to an end. In Charlotte, on the other hand, the match could only be continued after a two -hour interruption.
There was no such detailed persecution of the weather developments in 1994 when the World Cup was held for the first time in the USA in 1994. Because the technology was simply not so far developed at the time. In the meantime, the view of the weather app for people in the south of the USA is almost daily routine.
2026 also games in hot Texas and Missouri
The club World Cup is mainly held on the east coast – but among other things in the southern states of Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. But even in the venues further north of Cincinnati, Philadelphia and New Jersey, the temperatures reached far more than 30 degrees Celsius. In the coming year, Texas (Houston, Dallas) and Missouri (Kansas City) will be added, which are also known for their oppressive summer heat.
“A World Cup in America in the middle of summer? Did they see the weather?”had already in early August 2024 “The athletic” asked. Shortly before, an referee assistant at the group game of the Copa America between Canada and Peru in Kansas City had collapsed at a temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius in the first half.
Concrete bowls without any roofing
Now Charlotte in 2026 will not be a place to play as Orlando, where several games of the club World Cup had to be interrupted due to thunderstorms or rains. But in Miami the World Cup ball will roll. And in contrast to Houston, Dallas and Atlanta, the arena there is no dome, it has no roof to be closed.
The game will only be played in the USA in the USA in American football stadiums. This guarantees many places (between 64,800 and 82,500), but the huge arenas in Foxborough, 30 minutes by car southwest of Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Kansas City and San Francisco are concrete bowls – without any roofing. Thus, the external conditions could have a greater influence on footballers and fans than in the European arenas.
4800 kilometers between two venues
Another challenge will be the distances. “If you look at the card, it doesn’t look that far away. But if you have to travel these routes, you will only notice what distances that are”Torsten Frings quickly noticed during his time at Toronto FC (2011 to 2013). The biggest distance is the 4800 kilometers between Mexico City and Vancouver. This roughly corresponds to the Lisbon – Moscow or Reykjavik – Barcelona route. From the stadium in Philadelphia to the Arena in New Jersey, on the other hand, it is only 150 kilometers. This is the shortest distance – and almost around the corner for American conditions.
Due to the distances, the main means of transport will be the aircraft in 2026. The US stadiums in Foxborough, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Miami, Dallas, Houston and Kansas City are outside the city centers, in the case of Santa Clara, around an hour from San Francisco. They can often only be reached by car, in New Jersey the train is a good alternative. Go to football or even by fan, which will only be possible in Seattle and Atlanta, where the venues are located directly in the city center.