2026 World Cup: The Real Winners and Losers

As did his post-match tribute, holding up six fingers to Canada fans (one of each of the team’s goals) in a direct echo of Michael Jordan’s pose after winning his sixth NBA championship. But Marsch outdid himself with the rousing speech to his team — “You are Canadian heroes” — after they beat South Africa to advance to the final 16, for the first time in Canadian soccer history.

The World Cup’s Most Famous Nobody

New Zealand defender Tim Payne became an internet celebrity for being the tournament’s “least-known” player. After discovering that Payne had the fewest Instagram followers of any player at the World Cup (below 5,000), Argentine influencer Valen Scarsini challenged his followers to make Payne famous. It worked. Payne’s Insta numbers soared to close to six million before New Zealand even took the field. The #NoPayneNoGain meme went viral. The 32-year-old fullback embraced his role as the World Cup underdog, enjoying his 15 minutes of fame before heading home following the Kiwi’s first-round exit.

Cape Verde Fairy Tale

Going into this tournament, few would have been able to find Cape Verde on a map. Now the plucky archipelago, pop. 500,000, located off the West Coast of Africa, is the 2026 World Cup fairy tale. In the opening round, Cape Verde produced multiple feel-good stories. Take Josimar Dias, aka Vozinha, their 40-year-old goalkeeper, who went into the tournament an unknown, with 50,000 Instagram followers. That jumped to more than 15 million — passing the likes of Tom Brady — after Vozinha led his team to a heroic 0-0 draw against soccer giant Spain. His Insta fan base currently stand at 17.2 million.

Irish fans, unable to follow their own squad which failed to qualify, have embraced Vozinha’s teammate, Roberto Lopes, aka “Pico,” a Dublin-born defender with a Cape Verde father, who initially ignored the coach’s call up, sent to his LinkedIn, because it was in Portuguese, a language he doesn’t speak. Qualified for the second round, and facing defending champions Argentina, Cape Verde is everyone’s favorite underdog.

Messi Tops, Ronaldo Flops

This World Cup was supposed to be the swan song for 40-year-old Argentine superstar Lionel Messi. Instead, he proved his is still the G.O.A.T., scoring six goals in his opening three matches to break Miroslav Klose’s all-time tournament goal record and demonstrate, in his sixth(!) World Cup, he still has plenty of gas left in the tank.

As Messi roared, his long-term rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, sputtered. The 41-year-old Portuguese footballer managed to put two past a hopeless Uzbekistan, becoming the first player to score in six consecutive World Cups. But his performance in Portugal’s other two matches has been lackluster at best and done little to silence Ronaldo’s many, many critics in the press.

But whatever happens on the pitch, CR7 still rules online. Ronaldo is the most-followed human on Instagram, with 670 million fans. Messi, with a “mere” 511 million followers, is a distant second.

Norway’s Viking Invasion

Norwegian fans have already won the Golden Long Boat for best celebration. Their Viking Ship routine, where fans row and chant in unison has become this tournament’s equivalent of Iceland’s “Thunderclap” celebration from Euro 2016.

After Norway’s 3-2 victory of Senegal, that sent the Scandinavians into the second round in their first-ever World Cup, thousands in Times Square joined in the heaving and hoing. Pure Internet gold.

France Makes It Look Easy

Every World Cup has one team that looks like it’s operating at a different speed. In 2026, that’s France. Les Bleus cruised through the group stage with three wins and they barely broke a sweat.

There were no histrionics, no last-gasp escapes, no drama. Just the effortless cool of the world’s greatest attacking force of Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Michael Olise and Desire Doue.

Didier Deschamps’ squad reinforced their status as pre-tournament favorites and showed the rest of the tournament how to win in style.

Iran’s Cruel Exit

No team had a harder journey to the World Cup than Iran. Before the first ball was kicked, Iran’s squad was caught up in visa issues, travel restrictions and the political fallout of being caught between Tehran and Washington. Iran’s squad relocated their base to Mexico, crossing into the U.S. for matches. At games, diaspora fans, many of whom actively oppose the Iranian regime, booed the national anthem.

Then came the sporting heartbreak. Iran drew all three group games and still went home, their hopes extinguished only when Austria scored a stoppage-time equalizer against Algeria in another match, denying Iran a place in the knockout rounds by the narrowest of margins. This tournament, an unbeaten record should have been enough to secure a ticket to the next round. This time, it wasn’t enough. heartbreak for a squad that spent the tournament as a political football.

No Scotland, No Party

Scotland’s performance on the field was dismal. One win, against minnow Haiti, and two losses (admittedly to the superior squads of Brazil and Morocco), mean the Scots, again, are heading home after the first round.

But if trophies were given for fan culture, the Tartan Army would be reigning champions. Countless videos of Scottish fans celebrating — kilted supporters playing the bagpipes in the streets of Boston and Miami, signing and dancing with opposing fans — have gone viral. As have stories of Scots drinking Boston taprooms dry.