Simon Kuper and Geoff Bennett discuss the World Cup on 'Settle In'

Geoff Bennett:

Well, after more than 100 games played across three countries, the world's largest sporting event, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, comes to an end this Sunday.

For the latest episode of our podcast, "Settle In," I looked back on the highs and lows of the tournament with a journalist and author Simon Kuper. Kuper co-wrote the bestseller "Soccernomics," and his latest book is "World Cup Fever: A Footballing Journey in Nine Tournaments."

Here's a clip from our conversation.

Obviously, this is happening in a North American summer. How do you see the conditions, the heat conditions, affecting the game and the play on the pitch?

Simon Kuper, Author, "World Cup Fever: A Footballing Journey in Nine Tournaments": I mean, often, it's very clear. So I was at the England-Norway game in Miami on Saturday, and it was, I think, close to 90 degrees, very humid.

And the players wilt. Performance weakens. They can't cover as much space. the space opens up. I think Erling Haaland, the great Norwegian, being giant, I think makes you more susceptible to heat. And he actually went off before time, substituted, which ended Norway's chances.

So, yes, it definitely reduces the quality. In a way, it increases the drama because the players are not just playing against each other's quality. They're also playing against the elements. It's like in a movie. You're fighting the elements. But it definitely is probably dangerous, and it reduces the quality of play.

Geoff Bennett:

How concerned is FIFA about player welfare? I raise the question because they're set to have a World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2034. And one would expect that to be -- the heat to be far more dynamic than it has been here.

Simon Kuper:

Yes, either they will do what they did in Qatar, which is move it to winter. The Saudi winter, it's in the 70s. That would be fine. Or they will air-condition the entire stadiums, which is the case in a couple of U.S. stadiums this tournament. And the Saudis would just pay for that.

But then fans would be moving around in 120-degree heat, getting to the stadium, which would just be a complete nightmare. So I think they will probably move the Saudi World Cup to Winter. Qatar set the precedent.

Geoff Bennett:

Yes.

Let's talk about the U.S. men's team, because despite a promising start and an obvious home advantage, they were beaten in the Round of 16. What did you make of the U.S. performance?

Simon Kuper:

I mean, the U.S. has actually not been improving for 20-odd years now. And we track this in "Soccernomics." Their peak FIFA ranking, I think, is the beginning of the century, and they're somewhere in the top 10. And they get worse.

Why do they get worse? I think one reason is they play more games against North and Central American opponents in the region. They introduced the Gold Cup. And North and Central America is not the region of high soccer quality.

So if you're playing against even Mexico, Canada, Honduras, El Salvador, you're not playing the best football. To get better, you need to learn from the top football. The U.S. don't do that anymore. But also what you're seeing is not just the U.S. All the countries outside Western Europe and Argentina are failing to catch up.

So that's true of the Asian countries, the African countries. And why is it? I think West Europeans have kind of discovered the secret of football, which is about, where should I be? Geometry. How do you create space when you have the ball, shrink space when you don't have the ball?

Big question in football action for a player, the player doesn't have the ball 88, 89 minutes. So his question or her question all the game is, where should I be? So it's a kind of intellectual question. Football is a game you play with your head.

And the Europeans are better at answering it, not just better than the Americans, but better than people from anywhere else as well. So I see the American failure as part of the failure of the entire world outside Western Europe and Argentina for six World Cups in a row now.

Geoff Bennett:

There's always 2030 for the U.S.

You can watch that full episode of "Settle In" and more on our YouTube page or wherever you get your podcasts.