From Trump to Messi, Iran to ICE, politics and sport collide at the biggest World Cup in history

The wait is over for the biggest World Cup ever with 48 teams, 104 matches, three host nations and a slew of questions and controversies swirling around the highly scrutinzed event that will last for nearly six weeks.

The tournament kicks off in Mexico City on Thursday amid concerns about soaring ticket prices and political tensions. There are unprecedented logistical challenges to staging a three-country event across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

All of that is separate from the on-field drama that will play out through the July 19 final as soccer's top stars battle for the sport's biggest prize.

“This will be the biggest, the most inclusive, the greatest FIFA World Cup ever,” declared FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has predicted 7 million fans will pack the stadiums and 6 billion more will be watching from afar. “FIFA is the official happiness provider for humanity.”

That remains to be seen. The tournament kicks off in the U.S., which hosts the majority of the games, at a time of rising inflation, the war in Iran and the Trump administration's policies regarding immigration.

President Trump has been a big supporter of the World Cup coming to America, repeatedly hosting Infantino at the White House and speaking in glowing terms about the tournament. Infantino has gone to great lengths to strengthen those relations, awarding Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize last year after he was overlooked for the Nobel Prize.

There was also the Tiffany-crafted golden Club World Cup trophy, which sat in the Oval Office after America hosted the tournament last year. In an interview with broadcast DAZN, Trump said he asked FIFA when it would pick up the trophy. He was told: “You can have it forever in the Oval Office. We’re making a new one.”

Six months have passed since a German soccer federation official said it was time to consider a World Cup boycott because of Trump’s actions, which included threats to take control of Greenland. That was even before the United States and Israel launched military attacks on Iran, which has led to a surge in oil prices and destabilization in the Middle East.

It also raised questions about Iran's participation in the World Cup. The team moved its training base from Tuscon, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, called out visa hassles just a week before it opens play and arrived wearing lapel pins highlighting the victims of a deadly missile strike on an elementary school at the start of the war.

FIFA has come in for fierce criticizm over its ticket pricing strategy for this World Cup, which was already considered an expensive trip.

When tickets went on general sale in January they ranged from $140 to $8,680. While some have since been made available for less, others have risen significantly -- up to $32,970 for the final. Fans have accused the governing body of a “monumental betrayal”.

Resale prices are even higher on the secondary market, with FIFA's own resale marketplace in April listing four tickets to the final for just under $2.3 million each. While FIFA does not control prices on the site, it does take a 30% commission from each resale. Parking for games can cost as much as $175 and fans have been stunned by rising train fares, up from $12.90 to $98 in New Jersey, for example.

Infantino has defended ticket prices and said demand was equivalent to “1,000 years of World Cups at once”, adding that all 104 matches would be sold out.

A recent IPSOS poll, however, found that only 26% of Americans said they were “at least somewhat excited” about the World Cup and 7% were “extremely or very excited.”

Meanwhile, room bookings have been lighter than expected in most of the 11 U.S. host cities, according to an April survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association.

A super-sized tournament across three countries is FIFA’s latest World Cup experiment and only time will tell if it works. For some, the quality of the event will seem diluted by expanding the format from 32 teams to 48 and creating room for debutants like tiny Curacao and Cape Verde.

Much of the jeopardy of the group stage has effectively been removed with elite teams largely separated. It means the real drama may be put on hold until the round of 16.

“There’s a balance to be struck between making sure the World Cup is genuinely representative, but it’s also meant to be a football tournament that determines who the best team in the world is,” said Jonathan Wilson, author of The Power and the Glory: A New History of the World Cup.

One thing FIFA cannot be blamed for is rising temperatures and extreme heat is likely to affect athletes, fans, workers and officials during the games. Some of the sites — the Texas cities of Dallas and Houston, for example, though Kansas City and Atlanta are not immune — could see ‘feels like" temperatures above 90 degrees F (32 C).

There will be safety measures such as hydration breaks for players and FIFA wound up changing its policy on water bottles for the tournament’s 16 stadiums across North America, including some with limited shade from the sun.

Ultimately when it comes to the World Cup, the soccer eventually takes over and there are many potential storylines ahead.

Does Lionel Messi have one last great act at the World Cup at the age of 38 and in what is surely his final bow on this stage?

Can the 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo land the one major trophy that has eluded him in his record-breaking career?

Record five-time winner Brazil is out for its first title in more than 20 years and has turned to iconic Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti to try to end its drought.

England has put its faith in German Thomas Tuchel as it tries to end 60 years of hurt.

And what about the United States, led by Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino? Can it pull off the biggest World Cup upset of all time on home soil?

“If you go into a tournament thinking, ‘Oh yeah, we have no chance of winning it,’ then what’s the point of even going? What’s the point of playing?” U.S. captain Tim Ream told The AP. “He (Pochettino) is not shy about speaking about that when we’re together... ‘Why not us? Why can’t we do it?’"

James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

A dancer performs along Reforma Avenue in Mexico City, Saturday, June 6, 2026 ahead of the FIFA World Cup. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Lionel Messi lifting a trophy is depicted on a soccer ball hand-painted by artist Lili Cantero to commemorate Argentina's 2022 World Cup victory in Qatar, part of a neighborhood-wide soccer ball art trail and World Cup-themed treasure hunt planned for Miami's Wynwood district, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Spain's Nico Williams, left, takes a photo with fan Marcos Perez, right, of Atlanta, after a training session, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Chattanooga, Tenn., ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

A woman holds a flag and poster during a protest in reaction to FIFA's ban of Iran's pre-revolutionary flag inside World Cup stadiums Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Benjamin Hanson)

WARNER, N.H. (AP) — For Rahm Emanuel, the road to the White House runs through the uphill climbs of rural New Hampshire.

The onetime Democratic congressman, White House chief of staff, Chicago mayor and U.S. ambassador to Japan hasn't formally announced his ambition to return to power in Washington. But his weekend trip through the state that typically holds the first presidential primary was hardly subtle.

There were the union hall visits and intimate house parties, staples of New Hampshire political rituals. At one event in the backyard of a handsome home in Concord, Emanuel greeted voters and practiced a stump speech that highlighted strains on the middle class and the excesses of the tax system.

And then there was the bike tour.

Over the course of three days, Emanuel pedaled 117 miles across New Hampshire from Portsmouth on the coast to Hanover on the Vermont border in what he dubbed the “Spin-Free Tour,” a nod to his blunt demeanor that he sees as an asset for a Democratic Party trying to move beyond its devastating losses in 2024.

“Tough times require a tough leader,” Emanuel told The Associated Press during a break at a coffee shop in Warner. “I don't think this is just about learning the words to ‘Kumbaya.’”

For someone who has spent the better part of three decades in the highest orbits of political power, the 66-year-old Emanuel is in the unusual position of lacking a natural platform. His likely rivals in a Democratic presidential contest are mostly younger and, as governors, senators or a recently departed vice president, can more easily attract attention.

And despite his thick resume, Emanuel isn't especially well known outside political circles, as demonstrated by a woman who asked who he was after he left the coffee shop. When informed that it was Emanuel and that he was considering a campaign, she responded, “A campaign for what?”

Emanuel is tapping into his hard-wired tenacity in hopes of overcoming such challenges.

As many prominent Democrats focus on castigating President Donald Trump, Emanuel has released a flurry of policy proposals addressing everything from social media bans for children to prediction markets and a mandatory retirement age of 75 for those in public office. That would prevent him from seeking a second term if he were elected.

Emanuel is often on the road, talking education in Mississippi and Michigan. He'll travel to Israel next month to address the U.S.-Israeli relationship as the war in Gaza has spurred new divisions in both political parties, especially among younger voters.

He is a regular guest on podcasts ranging from those hosted by Katie Couric and Kara Swisher to shows focused on fly fishing. He often uses the appearances to knock his own party for overreaching in cultural debates, particularly those involving the rights of transgender people. It’s a message of centrism that has echoes of that of the first president he served, Bill Clinton.

“We did things that were really ridiculous,” he said of Democrats on an episode of Couric's podcast that posted last week. “Rather than worry about classroom excellence, we were worried about bathroom and locker room access.”

And he hops on the bike.

The tour gives him a chance to both demonstrate his physical fitness at a time of heightened awareness of the nation's aging political leaders and to introduce himself to the state's notoriously picky voters before the rest of the field swoops in after the November midterms.

“It is early,” said Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., who appeared alongside Emanuel at the Concord house party. “But what I'd say is the people in New Hampshire know how to vet candidates and they're the most engaged electorate in the country.”

Martha Kruse, a 76-year-old retired special education teacher from Laconia, New Hampshire, is just that type of voter. Active in her local Democratic Party, she traveled to the Concord event to see Emanuel after hearing him in interviews.

“I'm going away really enthused about him,” she said, adding that he was “right on” to prepare a campaign so early.

The future of the presidency seemed a world away during a hilly 20-mile stretch of the ride on Saturday, which included an elevation gain of more than 1,300 feet. Along with a cadre of friends and aides, Emanuel cycled past homes where residents were tending to their yards or celebrating a recent graduation on their front patio. He was chatty at times as he rode with the pack and cycled alone at other points, showing little strain in navigating the steep hills.

With summer finally creeping into New England, the humidity was high and the rain was occasionally intense. The group stopped for water and snacks every 10 to 15 miles, huddling under a barn during one rainy stretch. A small group of local activists met up with Emanuel at the coffee shop in Warner, where he held court from a rocking chair.

But the realities of modern politics occasionally asserted themselves. The group at one point cycled past signs praising Trump and denigrating his predecessor, Joe Biden. As the miles dragged on, a chase vehicle crept by periodically with cameras poking out the window to capture scenes that could later be shared on social media, where Emanuel now has an almost daily presence.

And the whir of the midterms wasn't far away. In neighboring Maine, Graham Platner was contending with a drumbeat of reports about his history with women that has left some Democrats worried that the party's path to a Senate majority is suddenly imperiled. Emanuel, who helped power Democrats to their sweeping 2006 victories in the U.S. House, said the “jury is still out” on whether Platner can win the Senate race.

“Everybody is holding their breath whether this is the start of something or the end of something,” he said.

But as the broader debate over the Democratic Party's ideological future unfolds, Emanuel said he thought voices of moderation were prevailing. He noted recent wins by Rebecca Bennett, who emerged from a crowded Democratic primary in New Jersey with the nomination for a competitive House seat, along with Josh Turek, the new Democratic Senate nominee in Iowa.

“There's a bigger character piece to this than ideological,” Emanuel said. “There's radical moderates and their profile and character speak to kind of fighting a system, which is what's needed right now.”

The bike tour was certainly not John McCain's “Straight Talk Express,” the 2000 campaign bus from which the Arizona Republican senator opined on any question that came his way to seize attention and mount a surprise New Hampshire win over front-runner George W. Bush. But some voters said they were open to Emanuel.

Don Daley, a 60-year-old state employee from Concord, watched Emanuel talk from a bench in the backyard of the house party. He said that Emanuel probably “steps on a few toes.”

“But I think that's what we need right now,” he said. “Some of our Democratic leaders haven't been strong enough.”

Rahm Emanuel speaks at a house party in Concord, N.H., Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Sloan)

Rahm Emanuel speaks at a house party in Concord, N.H., Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Sloan)

Rep. Maggie Goodlander speaks alongside Rahm Emanuel at a house party in Concord, N.H., Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Sloan)

Rahm Emanuel takes a break from a bike ride through New Hampshire, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Sloan)

Rahm Emanuel takes a break from a bike ride through New Hampshire, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Sloan)