The “beautiful game’’ will shine in our beautiful country for the next month.
For the second time in the 96-year history of the World Cup, the United States will serve as host — along with Canada and Mexico — in the 23rd edition of the largest sporting spectacle in the world.
The games among the 48 teams will be played in 16 different venues across the three nations, beginning with the kickoff match, Mexico against South Africa in Mexico City at 3 p.m. Thursday.
In all, 11 of the venues are in the U.S. — Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle. Three are in Mexico — Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. And two are in Canada — Toronto and Vancouver.
Locally, MetLife Stadium — known as New York New Jersey Stadium for the next five weeks — will host eight matches, beginning with Brazil against Morocco on Saturday and including one round of 32 match, one round of 16 match and the final July 19.
This World Cup marks the first time that it’s been hosted by three nations, but make no mistake: This is very much about the U.S., and more specifically, about the U.S. men’s national team, which comes into this World Cup with the heaviest burden of expectation it has ever faced.
The American team, which did not have to endure the daunting qualification process because the host nation gets a free pass, opens play against Paraguay in its first Group D match at 9 p.m. Eastern time Friday in Los Angeles.
Group matches against Australia and Türkiye will come next … followed hopefully by an unprecedented run through the elimination rounds.
Times have changed for U.S. soccer since the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup, in 1994.
The talent pool is deeper, thanks in part to Major League Soccer spawning, in large part, from that World Cup. There are now U.S. players playing all over the globe on the biggest and best clubs in the world.
America cares a lot more about soccer today than it ever has, even if it still lags behind countries with richer histories.
Stadiums in the U.S., with the American team playing, are no longer filled with more fans from opposing countries than our own.
“Soccer in general in the United States, I think we’re in an amazing place,’’ former USMNT midfielder Earnie Stewart told The Post. “You have all these soccer-specific stadiums now. You have all these players playing overseas in really good leagues. That says a lot.’’
Former U.S. defender Marcelo Balboa recalled when he was playing that few even in the U.S. knew who the top American soccer players were.
“No one knew what soccer was,’’ Balboa told The Post. “No one knew who we were. And now today we’ve got guys playing for AC Milan, Juventus. We’ve got guys playing all over the world.’’
The intrigue in this World Cup, of course, does not begin and end with the U.S. It is, after all, the World Cup.
This tournament is flooded with fascinating storylines, beginning with the biggest stars of the sport surely playing in the World Cup for a final time in Lionel Messi, who’ll be 39 on June 24, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s 41.
Messi and his Argentina team are defending champions, having won it in 2022 in Qatar. Argentina enters this World Cup as No. 1 in the FIFA rankings.
Ronaldo is playing in his record sixth World Cup, though his role surely won’t be as prominent as it once was when he was in his prime. Still, Portugal is ranked No. 5 by FIFA.
Spain is ranked No. 2 and France, the 2018 winner and runner-up to Argentina in ’22 losing on penalty kicks, is ranked No. 3.
France star Kylian Mbappé may be the most dynamic player in this World Cup, in the prime of his brilliant career. After winning the 2018 World Cup as a teenager, he and France lost the ’22 final despite his hat trick.
England, which is ranked fourth by FIFA, is always among the most compelling stories every four years, having not won a World Cup since 1966, which came on home soil.
The Brits are blessed with some of the best players in the world with the likes of Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice.
The England supporters are as passionate about the sport as anyone. Can they end 60 years of angst in this World Cup?
Other world-class players to watch across this World Cup include Norway’s prolific scoring striker Erling Haaland, Brazil star Vinicius Jr., one of the great creators in the game, Spain midfielder Rodri, who in 2024 won the Ballon d’Or, the prestigious individual award in soccer, won by Messi eight times.
These international stars aside, this World Cup should also shine a spotlight on the U.S. stars such as Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Chris Richards and Folarin Balogun, one of the most productive scorers in the world.
“As we go through this summer … I hope that what happens and what is celebrated is how far we’ve come,’’ Alexi Lalas, the former U.S. defender and current Fox Sports analyst, told The Post. “In American soccer, we often kick ourselves for what we haven’t done or what we aren’t. I think it’s important every once in a while to pat ourselves on the back.
“Don’t let anybody tell you that we’re not a soccer nation, that we don’t have a soccer culture. We should be incredibly proud of the soccer culture we have created.”
This World Cup is the canvas provided for the Americans to prove Lalas’ words true. Now it’s time to paint.
