The World Cup has always been the biggest stage in football. In 2026, however, we will be facing something different. It won’t be just another edition of the tournament. It will be a moment of transition between the football we know and the one that is emerging.
The expansion to 48 teams represents one of the biggest changes in World Cup history. I see this decision in a positive light. Football has truly become global, and it makes sense for more countries to have the opportunity to compete at the highest level. Naturally, there is a risk of greater competitive imbalance in some stages of the tournament, but I believe the development of world football depends precisely on these kinds of opportunities. Many of the countries we now see from afar may become protagonists in the coming decades.
The Qatar World Cup also left us with an important reflection. It was a tournament played at a different time of the calendar, and many players showed very high physical and competitive levels. I don’t think it’s realistic to permanently move the World Cup to the middle of the season, due to the complexity of national and international calendars, but Qatar showed us that modern football needs to rethink the competitive load placed on players, especially those who are the elite of the sport. The future will inevitably involve finding a better balance between performance and recovery.
The 2026 World Cup will be held from June 11th to July 19th in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The tournament will feature 48 national teams and will be played in 16 modern stadiums.
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The joint organisation between the United States, Mexico, and Canada is another test for the future of football. The infrastructure will be extraordinary, but the geographical scale will pose unprecedented challenges. Logistics, travel, and recovery could directly influence team performance. It will be a tournament where off-the-pitch organisation could have as much impact as what happens on the field.
On the sporting side, Portugal continue to have strong arguments to be considered a serious contender. They have one of the most talented generations in their history, with high-quality options in almost every position. But titles are not won by talent alone. They are won by the ability to turn individual quality into collective identity. That is precisely where the biggest challenge lies. If they can reach that level of competitive maturity, Portugal will be able to compete with any team in the world.
This World Cup may also mark the definitive farewell of some of the most influential figures of the last two decades. Players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Guillermo Ochoa are iconic names who helped define an era. There is something bittersweet about witnessing these final moments. Football is inevitably preparing for a renewal of leadership; it acknowledges their legacy, but waits for no one. And perhaps that is exactly what makes these possible farewells so special: the certainty that what we experienced with them will not be repeated.
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In this context, the situation of Mohamed Salah deserves special consideration. I had the opportunity to work with him, and what impressed me most was never just his talent. It was his ambition, his discipline, his competitive mindset, and the way he approached the process of improvement every day. Great players go through tough times during their careers. It’s part of the journey. What sets them apart is how they respond to those moments.
I see Salah as a discreet leader, who doesn’t need many words, but when he speaks, the impact is felt. A leader who leads by example, with an extraordinary ability to perform his tasks with great quality.
His competitive personality, work ethic, and adaptability make me believe he will continue to be a reference in the coming years. Maybe he no longer relies as much on the physical explosiveness that marked the start of his career, but great players know how to reinvent themselves. And Salah has enough intelligence to keep being decisive in different contexts.
For all these reasons, the 2026 World Cup will be much more than just a tournament. It will be a mirror of the transformations football is undergoing. More countries, new organisational models, new physical demands, new leaders, and new ways of competing. Perhaps in a few years, we will look back at this tournament as the moment when football truly entered a new era.
