World Cup 2026: Why the football during North America's tournament has been better than at Qatar 2022 (so far)

Before World Cup 2026 kicked off, there were huge question marks about North America's ability to host a memorable tournament, ranging from the perceptions of footballing culture on the continent to the concerning political climate.

Some of these fears have been validated, especially considering the poor treatment of fans attempting to travel to the United States - most notably those from the continent of Africa - as well as Somali referee Omar Artan, who was denied entry to the country.

However, from a purely footballing perspective, the action on the pitch has been significantly better than expected.

This summer's competition has seen an impressive number of goals scored, while debutant nations Cape Verde, Curacao, Uzbekistan and Jordan have brought a fresh feeling to the World Cup.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how World Cup 2026 in North America has been better than Qatar 2022 so far, as well as highlighting some of the tournament's glaring issues.

The start to World Cup 2026 has been more entertaining than Qatar 2022

0-0 - The #FIFAWorldCup 2022 has seen three goalless draws in the first nine matches of the tournament, as many as all 115 games at the World Cup 2018 and EURO 2020 combined. Disappointing. pic.twitter.com/NZlHJLOqM8
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) November 23, 2022

Many fans recall the enthralling semi-finals and the dramatic final of World Cup 2022, where Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi went head-to-head, with the former scoring a hat-trick and the latter taking home the trophy.

Those memories have been the longest-lasting from the tournament, but it is often forgotten that the prevailing feeling in the early stages was one of boredom.

The 2022 edition got off to a slow start and set a competition record when eight teams drew their opening World Cup game 0-0 for the first time, and by the time it came to a close, the Qatar iteration had seen seven goalless draws, matching most in World Cup history.

For comparison, France's 0-0 stalemate with Denmark at Russia 2018 took place during the third round of group-stage games, and was the only one of the entire tournament.

In 2026 there have been four 0-0 draws from the first two rounds of group games (a rate of 8.3%), while there were five (10.6%) at the same stage in 2022, including England's goalless affair with the USA.

Despite only a marginal difference in the raw number, a 20% decrease in goalless draws during a tournament that features 16 more teams is notable.

A summer of firsts: bringing a fresh spark to World Cup 2026

The expanded format of World Cup 2026 has long been the source of widespread debate in the footballing sphere, with many theorising that the dramatic increase in competitors would lead to the devaluation of qualifying and an over-saturation of matches.

However, some of the brightest moments from the tournament have come from nations that made their World Cup debut this summer.

For example, Jordan are appearing at this level for the first time in their history and have managed to score in both of their group games against Austria and Algeria, an achievement that was celebrated on home soil despite the fact they went on to lose both outings.

Likewise, Curacao's equaliser against Germany will go down as a moment of national pride (even if the final result that day does not bear repeating) as will their draw against Ecuador on Sunday.

Fellow debutants Cape Verde have stolen the hearts of neutrals worldwide thanks to their shocking 0-0 stalemate with European champions Spain on matchday one, and played with no fear to secure another point in a 2-2 draw against two-time World Cup-winners Uruguay.

However, even the likes of Egypt wrote a new chapter when Mohamed Salah led them to their first ever World Cup win thanks to a goal and assist in a 3-1 triumph over New Zealand, while Andrew Robertson's Scotland and Erling Haaland's Norway are taking part for the first time since France 1998.

The later rounds of the competition will see fans laser-focused on the battle for the glory, but the early stages of the current iteration have provided important moments in the spotlight for less successful nations to shine, a factor that has given World Cup 2026 a novel feel.

North America's World Cup has been far from perfect

Despite the footballing entertainment, it has to be said that the current World Cup is by no means an example of perfection.

Controversy has loomed over the tournament, most prominently about FIFA's exorbitant ticket prices and questionable business practices that have alienated fans from attending what is being branded as 'the biggest World Cup ever'.

In a more problematic manner, December 2025 saw US President Donald Trump sign an executive order placing partial travel bans on a number of countries, including World Cup participants Senegal, Ivory Coast, Iran and Haiti.

This has significantly impacted the ability of fans to support their national teams at the World Cup, prompting Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly to say to The Athletic, "I think that every team can have their people, so I don't understand why people from Africa cannot have their people."

The strife that supporters are enduring to get to matches this summer only adds to the negativity surrounding the tournament, which was brought to widespread attention once again before the opening game when referee Artan was not allowed to enter the USA.

It remains to be seen what the legacy of World Cup 2026 will be, though it would be fair to say that while the on-pitch entertainment has been refreshing, it is marred somewhat by the stark contrast to the problems that humans on the ground are dealing with.