Link: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/apr/16/the-world-behind-the-cup-nation-building-through-soccer

Every World Cup, from Uruguay and Italy in 1930 and 1934, to Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022, has been to an extent about presenting an image to the world

I’ve been surprised how differently this World Cup has been used than the ‘94 World Cup:

Very early, the pattern was set. Every World Cup has been to some extent a projection of the host and its government. It can bind a country together in common cause, and it can offer at least supposed evidence of a nation’s pre-eminence. That can be a largely innocent expression of national pride, as it was for Uruguay, or it can be something rather more malign, as it was for fascist Italy. Every World Cup, from Uruguay and Italy in 1930 and 1934, to Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022, has been to an extent about nation-building and about presenting an image to the world.