World Cup: FIFA's greed should at least result in new heroes emerging in North America marathon - Stuart Rayner
FIFA have tried their very best to defile it, but still a football World Cup brings an air of excitement.
This will be the biggest, most drawn-out tournament ever, with 48 teams diluting the quality and 32 qualifying for the knockout stages making group matches fairly pointless. But Italy's failure to qualify shows that even in this format, the unpredictable can happen.
If FIFA and UEFA's squeezing every last drop out of the top players was done for entirely reprehensible reasons, it should at least bring some handicapping into play.
Phil Foden and Cole Palmer looked burnt out after a Club World Cup last summer and a European Championship final the one before, not to mention the exhaustive Champions League group stage in 2025-26.
The bodies of Estevao, Hugo Ekitike, Xavi Simons, Kaoru Mitoma, Dejan Kulusevski and Serge Gnabry let them down. William Saliba's back and Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi's hamstrings are worrying too.
Messi's will be of most concern to FIFA, who seem more interested in past legends than current stars, shamelessly breaking their own rules to stop Cristiano Ronaldo being suspended for Portugal's opening matches. It is good news for celebrity-watchers, less so for a Portugal side in thrall to one of the world's all-time greats, now blocking progress as an immobile 41-year-old centre-forward at his sixth World Cup.
The biggest absentees will be real fans. Despite FIFA's boasts about how much interest there has been in tickets, anecdotal evidence suggests hardly any games have sold out, with genuine supporters either priced out by the world governing body's decision to not only allow the hosts to charge prices way above what they promised in their bid but take a cut as touts, or visa concerns, or worries about what the United States' Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers might do to them.
Shame on FIFA - yet again - and Gianni Infantino, the second-most narcissistic president expected at the matches.
But never a tournament seems to go by without horror stories beforehand. The Qatar World Cup was wrong on so many levels, but Messi and Kylian Mbappe were still leading figures in a classic final.
Hopefully by the time the wheat has been sorted from the chaff, in early July, we should have a proper competition on our hands.
Who will win it is hard to predict - Brazil had a terrible qualification but they have a formidable squad of players including former Leeds United winger Raphinha and now led by Carlo Ancelotti, surely not a manager who will pander to Neymar as Roberto Martinez will to Ronaldo.
England were near-perfect in qualifying but Michel Platini's "lions in the winter, lambs in the spring" comment of many years ago still worries. How will they stand up to the searing summer heat at the end of unforgiving seasons? Harry Kane was the best striker in the world in 2025-26 - can he keep going for six more weeks or will we see a re-run of the 2024 European Championship?
Thomas Tuchel's decision to go with the best squad, not the best players, is far more Alf Ramsey than Sven-Goran Eriksson, but his final 26 left many puzzled. England's first test will be Luka Modric's last hurrah.
The thought of potentially playing Mexico in the altitude of their capital city in the last-16 is concerning for the Three Lions but under Tuchel their preparation will be meticulous.
Happy to travel without a Real Madrid player, Spain have as big an embarrassment of riches as England, but with added confidence from being European champions. If they have a fully fit Yamal by the time the knockouts come around, no one will want to face them.
Argentina are the holders, with quality everywhere. Like Spain, they just have to be careful not to play a half-fit star - legend in Messi's case - over fully-fit high-quality supporting cast members. England have fallen into that trap far too often.
France could face it too with Mbappe another looking worn down by the relentless schedule, and Saliba struggling after going the distance with Arsenal in England and Europe. In Michael Olise, they have one of this season's most exciting attackers, in Didier Deschamps the undisputed king of international management.
Germany also have plenty of quality but no out-and-out No 9 and a 40-year-old goalkeeper in Manuel Neuer who is another all-time great who showed in the Champions League he still has incredible brilliance, but mixes it with more clangers than ever.
Anyone who thinks Morocco are dark horses have not been paying attention. As champions of Africa and semi-finalists in Qatar, they have pedigree. That Senegal scored more goals than them in the messed-up AFCON final means they deserve respect too.
Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay showed more cynicism than Bielsaball at Wembley in March, but he was brave enough to say no thanks to Luis Suarez.
The Netherlands will bring colour, Croatia nous, Norway the goal machine that is Erling Haaland, and ultimate underdogs Curacao players from Sheffield United, Rotherham United and Middlesbrough. Waving goodbye to the likes of Ronaldo, Messi, Modric, Neuer, Neymar, James Rodriguez and Kevin De Bruyne will be nice for the neutrals but over an endurance course this punishing, sentiment could be dangerous. Time for new heroes.