So, that's that. Another World Cup tournament has come and gone. Argentina defeated France in a thrilling final that now seems to rank as one of the greatest - if not the greatest - Final of a World Cup tournament in history.
Of course, I did not cover it, because I felt that Qatar was not deserving of the honor and distinction of hosting such a high profile international sports tournament. There are far too many human rights abuses that go unchecked there. We saw some examples of it in the past month or so, during the actual World Cup tournament itself. Once again, we see yet another example that money talks, and pretty much everything else is silenced.
However, Qatar World Cup 2022 is now over. And I have no objections to discussing the next World Cup, which will be hosted between three different North American countries: the United States (the primary host), Canada, and Mexico.
Mark Ogden, a Senior Writer with ESPN, has made some predictions which he even muses are way too early. Be that as it may, he expects Mbappé and France to win. The next World Cup will jump from 36 teams to qualify, to 48. So don't expect shocking omissions of sides generally expected to qualify, such as Netherlands and the United States in 2018, and Italy in both 2018 and 2022 (I agree that such startling failures to qualify are likely a thing of the past now). Also, he expects Norway, of all countries, to make some noise.
Below is the link to this ESPN article:
Way-too-early look at 2026 World Cup: Expect France to win, Mbappe vs. Haaland, US to go deep in knockouts play 7:04 PM ET Mark Ogden Senior Writer, ESPN FC, December 18, 2022:
https://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/story/4834158/2026-world-cup-way-too-early-look-france-to-win
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