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THE BOTTOM LINE

At the World Cup final, Fifa looks more American than ever

The football association is squeezing more revenue from eyeballs

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    • Sunday’s final featured the tournament’s first Super Bowl-style half-time show with BTS (above), Madonna and Shakira among the headliners.
    • Sunday’s final featured the tournament’s first Super Bowl-style half-time show with BTS (above), Madonna and Shakira among the headliners. PHOTO: REUTERS

    Adam Minter

    Published Mon, Jul 20, 2026 · 06:47 PM

    THE World Cup was supposed to change the US. That was the common consensus for decades. Show Americans soccer at its highest level, the thinking went, and a nation devoted to its own football might finally embrace the world’s game.

    Instead, America changed the World Cup.

    Spain’s testy 1-0 win over Argentina on Sunday (Jul 19, early Monday morning, Singapore time) closed a tournament increasingly shaped by an American sports playbook – and that may be exactly what the competition needs to grow as a business.

    World CupSportsfifaThe Bottom Line

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