As the World Cup enters its bloated early rounds, a time of flag-waving, and ceremonial pronouncements, it is probably time to talk about American sportswashing; about American imperialism in the age of Trump, and about football’s willingness to run alongside this model barking like a lost and hungry dog.

There has been a great deal of hyperbole around this tournament. But it is now an undeniably groundbreaking event. Most obviously that opener in Los Angeles will mark the first time the World Cup has been hosted by a country that is simultaneously engaged in starting both a global war and a global economic crisis. And somehow, it has to be said, avoiding any real scrutiny over either.

World Cup 2026: countdown to kick-off in Mexico, Somali referee to officiate Uefa Super Cup – as it happened
Read more
Qatar was at least utterly blatant in its horrors. Yes, we will stage a World Cup built on the bones of indentured labour. We can argue over semantics. But it’s going to happen. Football entered that dark space. Infantino could style himself as clearing up the mess of others, as a kind of progressive internationalist, a big-picture guy who just really gets the struggles of hardline super-rich inherited monarchies.

Before that Russia was a bit of an ambush for most people. Vladimir Putin was out there ahead of the tide. We bought it, swallowed it, puzzled at it. Russia even went through the motions of waiting a few years before the full-blown invasion of Ukraine. Whereas right now you can click the TV control from your enormous padded armchair drenched in Doritos dust and the US will be doing this all live and in real time on the next channel along.

There is a sense of sadness here, of opportunities missed. America is the most powerful economic and cultural force on Earth, self-appointed global prefect and all-round democracy monitor. This is a place where liberty is cherished, where people throw around the word “freedom” like it’s a threat, an insult, a blood-stained battle-axe. And yet the US is also the only World Cup host to ban Fifa members from attending. So far the landscape it has dished up is barren and divisive, a depressingly angry version of football uniting the world.