The Beautiful Game
The 2026 World Cup has kicked off! Forty-eight countries are participating in the nearly six-week-long soccer (or maybe you prefer football or fútbol) tournament. Games are being hosted in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and a champion will be crowned on July 19, 2026 in East Rutherford, NJ (just outside of New York City). Argentina enters the tournament as the #1 ranked team in the world, followed by France and Spain (the United States is ranked #16). Only eight countries have ever won the World Cup (Brazil-5, Germany-4, Italy-4, Argentina-3, France-2, Uruguay-2, England-1, and Spain-1).
Analysis and eternal perspective: It is called “the beautiful game” (this baseball fan respectfully demurs), and it is the most played (and by most measures, the most popular) sport in the world. The World Cup is played every four years and is the most important event in the sport, so you can begin to imagine the excitement (and nerves) for players and fans all around the world.
The early stages of the tournament are played in “groups” of four, with every team playing one game against the other three teams in their group. Thirty-two teams will then advance to the knockout rounds, where the format is single-elimination (loser is eliminated). The opening days of the tournament also presented several off-the-field stories (i.e., a Somalia referee was denied entry into the U.S. on national security grounds, and the Iranian national team moved their base camp from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico for diplomatic reasons related to the U.S.-Iran conflict).
As a Jesus follower, the World Cup is an opportunity to observe the beauty of the diversity in the pinnacle of God’s creation: mankind (Gen. 1:31). It is also a chance to take special note of your command to, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19; similar commands in Mk. 16:15, Lk. 14:23, and Acts 1:7-8). If you reside in North America, the nations are coming to you!
It is also with a touch of sardonic humor that I compare the elite athletes in the World Cup with my own injury-riddled pursuit of a church softball championship. Our team is an aging one (Yours Truly is Exhibit A), so our pursuit is equal parts performance and survival as we try to keep enough bodies healthy to finish the tournament!
No matter where on the athletic spectrum you fall (from World Cup caliber to two left feet), allow this story that will play out over the next several weeks to continually remind you of your life’s work. It may be called “the beautiful game,” but you are to tell The Greatest Story!”