18 July 2026
Guardian Gives America's World Cup Hosting a Brutally Mixed Report Card
A Guardian review of how the United States performed as a World Cup host dishes out praise for atmosphere but a failing grade for the price of a ticket.
The Guardian has published a sweeping assessment of how America handled its first World Cup as a full host nation, and the marks are uneven. On atmosphere and fan energy, the review awards strong grades, with supporters in many cities generating real tournament buzz.
But on affordability, the picture is far darker. According to The Guardian, ticket pricing at the 2026 World Cup made it an outlier among major sporting events, with costs so steep that much of the world could realistically never have attended. The report notes that pricing expectations set out in the original bid documents were far exceeded by what fans actually paid.
The review also takes aim at cities that failed to truly harness the tournament, singling out Texas in particular. Both Dallas and Houston, despite being host cities, appeared largely unmoved by the occasion, with a sense that the roadshow passed through without leaving much behind.
Sources
