World Cup 2026: Late goals, comebacks and upsets – could this be the best World Cup ever?

There was understandable concern about how the matches would turn out. With ticket prices at eye-watering levels, fans have to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles to watch their next tie, leading many to fear that the game’s atmosphere will deteriorate, playing in front of thousands of empty seats.

That didn’t happen.

FIFA, widely criticized for high ticket prices, says 99.7% of available seats have been filled. More than 4.4 million people attended the group games, a figure that currently stands at 6.2 million after the initial two knockout stages.

This puts the average attendance at just over 65,000 per match, behind only 1994 – held in the US – which saw just under 69,000 per game.

Not only the fans, but also the big players.

We have one The Golden Boot race for the ages With four of the best players in the world in contention. Argentina’s Lionel Messi with eight goals, France’s Kylian Mbappe and Norway’s Erling Haaland with seven goals, England’s Harry Kane with six goals.

This is the first time in World Cup history that three players have scored seven or more goals in the same tournament.

With 48 nations in attendance, there were fears of a largely one-sided clash, although the underdogs provided some of the best stories.

The Caribbean island of Curacao, the smallest nation to qualify for the World Cup, responded to Germany in their 7-1 draw with Ecuador, a 6-0 loss to Canada in Qatar’s campaign, but also a 1-1 draw with quarter-finalists Switzerland.

Meanwhile, Cape Verde, led by 40-year-old Vojinha, produced one of the greatest underdog stories in World Cup history, drawing with Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia to reach the last 32, where they gave holders Argentina a huge scare before losing 3-2 in extra time.