World Cups other winners & losers…
The 2026 World Cup has been a competition of heroes, villains and unforgettable storylines.
Some arrived chasing immortality and left with their reputations rewritten. Others got here as favorites and departed in shame.
It was a event that proved the World Cup is no longer just determined on the pitch.
While many manufacturers cashed in on the World Cup, no one performed the business sport better than David Beckham. REUTERS
Careers had been made, reputations had been destroyed, manufacturers turned global giants and total nations modified the way in which the world considered them.
Now the confetti has settled, it’s time to determine who conquered the World Cup — and who was left counting the associated fee …
Winner: David Beckham
While many manufacturers cashed in on the World Cup, no one performed the business sport better than David Beckham.
The former England captain, 51, turned the event into his own advertising and marketing masterclass, reportedly banking an estimated $25 million through partnerships that noticed him hawking Adidas, Pepsi, Home Depot, Verizon, McDonald’s, Lay’s, Bank of America, Lenovo, Ninja and Stella Artois (notably, the official sponsor of the World Cup).
The former England captain, 51, turned the event into his own advertising and marketing masterclass, reportedly banking an estimated $25 million through partnerships including with Lenovo (above). Lenovo
He also starred it an advert for Home Depot. The Home Depot/YouTube
He was in all places: in commercials, in interviews speaking up the competitors and in VIP suites alongside spouse Victoria, whose emotionless reactions at video games broke the web.
“This has been a great World Cup for branding and especially for David Beckham, who has really stood out,” says Rick Burton, Emeritus Professor of Sport Management at Syracuse University. “He is a commercial juggernaut.”
And the very fact that the World Cup was held in America — and proved such a success — is a win for Beckham, who has been decided to make soccer related right here. By first becoming a member of the LA Galaxy as a participant in 2007, then changing into co-owner of MLS’s Inter Miami and convincing famous person Lionel Messi to signal on, he has carried out more for American soccer than just about anybody else in the fashionable sport.
Beckham appeared in an advert for Ninja.
And he was the star of a business for Stella Artois, the official sponsor of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Stella Artois/YouTube
Becks even obtained his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, timed to the second day of the World Cup and with a inexperienced (slightly than pink) carpet that appeared just like turf.
“When David arrived, Major League Soccer had 13 teams,” his good pal Tom Cruise said during the induction ceremony. “Today, it has 30. This is partly down to a pledge Beckham made … The first was to win championships for the Galaxy. The second was to help construct soccer in the US …
“There is no Messi in this league, if not for David Beckham,” Cruise said.
Winner: America’s status
Before kick-off, the doubters lined up to query the Cup being held across 9 states (as nicely as Mexico and Canada). Would followers actually pay the eye-watering ticket costs? Would a nation often accused of treating soccer as a second-tier sport embrace the most important event on the planet?
The reply was an emphatic yes.
From Atlanta to Seattle, New York to Los Angeles, international followers fell for American hospitality — and food. @hughandmeg/TikTookay
Foreigners celebrated truck stops, air-conditioning and larger-than-life items. lisandru_susini/Tiktok
From Atlanta to Seattle, New York to Los Angeles, international followers fell for American hospitality, taking to social media to rejoice the whole lot from the air-conditioning (“It’s like stepping into a fridge!”) to the big automobiles, truck stops — notably Buc-ee’s — and fast food.
They actually fell in love with the food: Raising Cane’s. Chick-fil-A. Trader Joe’s. Barbecue in Dallas and Kansas City. “The mind-blowing revelation that is the Cheesecake Factory.”
And the MVP? Ranch dressing.
One England supporter told the BBC he spent $300 delivery 20 bottles of it back to the UK: “I’ll be having it on my roast dinners and fish and chips.”
Winner: Mexico’s fandom
Mexico didn’t carry the trophy – England ended their run in the quarter-finals – but El Tri’s supporters received the recognition contest.
The “Green Wave” turned Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca and Estadio Guadalajara into the loudest, most colourful arenas of the competitors, drowning out rival supporters and outnumbering opposition followers 5 to one.
The “Green Wave” turned Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca and Estadio Guadalajara into the loudest, most colourful arenas of the competitors. VCG via Getty Images
The obsession went far past the stands. According to Statista, around 92% of Mexico’s population adopted the event, making them the most engaged nation in the World Cup.
And that ardour turned a business juggernaut.
While actual figures stay undisclosed, Adidas revealed Mexico’s shirt was the event’s largest vendor, beating conventional powerhouses including finalists Spain and Argentina.
“It’s one of the clearest real-time reads we’ve seen on how a team’s performance translates into consumer demand,” said Brendan Dunne, senior director of buyer neighborhood and engagement at online market StockX.
Winner: Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland arrived in America as a soccer wrecking ball — a 6-foot-five purpose machine constructed to go away defenders in items.
He left as one thing even greater: a famous person followers felt they really knew.
Erling Haaland amused American audiences with his wacky methods. FIFA via Getty Images
On social media, he shared his travels, fan encounters and the lighter facet of life on the highway. Nothing captured his new American love affair better than his buying journeys.
In Dallas, forward of Norway’s sport against Ivory Coast, Haaland walked into Wild Bill’s Western Store and embraced cowboy tradition, shopping for a Stetson Brenham hat, Dan Post python boots and a T-shirt declaring: “Y’all Can Kiss My Dallas.”
He also left with a $750 stuffed “Whiskey Raccoon” and two taxidermy squirrels costing $450 each.
Asked about his growing reputation in America, Haaland smiled: “I think it’s a good thing because I like the Americans. I think they are kind of hilarious as well. They are funny. I like the way they are.”
Winner: Retail manufacturers
The expanded 48-team event delivered a global promoting bonanza, with sponsors combating for a slice of soccer’s largest stage across tv and social media, as nicely as in stadiums themselves. (And the new hydration breaks supplied even more alternative for commercials.)
Adidas had the benefit as official provider of the match balls and offering the shirts of 14 nations, including finalists Argentina and Spain, not to point out utilizing Lionel Messi as the face of its campaigns.
According to YouGov research, espresso model Cafe Bustelo generated the very best World Cup advertising and marketing buzz among more than 2,000 tracked manufacturers. Cafe Bustelo
LSEG Analytics predicted Adidas would see a 6.8% growth in World Cup quarter revenues as a outcome, considerably increased than rivals Nike.
That’s not to say Nike fared poorly.
As the producer of 12 crew kits at the World Cup, including the USA, France, Brazil and England, they bought 2.5 occasions as many as they did at the last event in Qatar in 2022.
They even bought out of USMNT shirts two weeks into the event as Mauricio Pochettino’s crew began the event impressively with wins against Paraguay and Australia. (By the time Nike had restocked, though, the USA had been eradicated.)
But, according to YouGov research, espresso model Cafe Bustelo generated the very best World Cup advertising and marketing buzz among more than 2,000 tracked manufacturers, rating first for advert awareness, shopper dialog and buy intent — all thanks to its “Game Face” marketing campaign, when it turned its iconic yellow espresso cans into collectible World Cup merchandise.
Loser: Cristiano Ronaldo
Having received the whole lot in the sport besides the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo needed one last second of immortality. Despite his relentless quest for the physique and image of a man half his age, he found that even soccer’s biggest perfectionist can’t outrun Father Time eternally.
Having received the whole lot in the sport besides the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo needed one last second of immortality. It didn’t occur. Getty Images
The Portuguese icon appeared every one of his 41 years as he labored around the pitch and struggled to affect video games. Yes, he scored three objectives, but two of them had been against the minnows of Uzbekistan and the other was a penalty against Croatia. His performances merely strengthened the argument of those critics who said his place in the crew was based on status slightly than efficiency.
Portugal’s brutal resolution not to bench the legend for the larger good value them dearly — and will tarnish his legacy.
Loser: Hydration breaks
With temperatures as high as 91.4 levels and humidity hitting 65% during England’s conflict with Norway in Miami — and every match in Dallas, Houston and Miami performed in situations above 94 levels — FIFA determined gamers needed safety.
FIFA’s new hydration breaks irritated some followers by turning soccer into a four-quarter sport. Getty Images
The answer: obligatory three-minute hydration breaks halfway through each half, giving gamers a probability to cool down and obtain tactical instructions from their coaches.
But what was designed as a security measure rapidly turned a flashpoint.
To critics, the breaks successfully turned soccer into a four-quarter sport, shattering the sport’s natural rhythm, killing momentum and including to the stop-start frustration already created by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) checking selections made by the on-field referee.
Loser: Christian Pulisic
This was supposed to be Pennsylvania-bred Christian Pulisic’s coronation. Instead, it turned his disappearing act.
The World Cup was supposed to be the coronation of USMNT’s Christian Pusilic. Instead, Captain America limped to the end line. Getty Images
Before the Cup started, his face loomed over billboards. He starred in blockbuster commercials alongside Lionel Messi. He was the golden boy, the captain, the participant carrying the weight of a nation.
But Pulisic failed to rating a single purpose all event, before limping off with a lower-leg injury during the USMNT’s 4-1 last-16 demolition by Belgium.
Captain America turned into Captain Invisible.
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