A World Cup Stained by Controversy: A Sporting Celebration Marred by Political Interference and Ticket Revenues

FIFA has shown a marked lack of transparency across the board, from the legitimacy of certain video technology reviews to how a serving head of state can influence a player's suspension. It has left an indelible stain on an event meant to be the biggest and purest celebration in the world.

Perhaps more than any other edition, this World Cup has forced everyone onto the line separating naivety from pessimism, swinging between the two sides almost daily.

Enjoying the football over the past month stands apart from any deliberate disregard for the other crises. The matches, which sometimes ran from morning until midnight, were utterly stunning.

Every star and national team turned up for this edition, much like an Oscars ceremony. That marks a sharp contrast to previous tournaments such as 2002 or 2010, which brought disappointment for many of the most prominent players and teams.

Kylian Mbappé edged out Lionel Messi and Jude Bellingham to claim the Golden Boot. The four best national teams in the world reached the semi-finals. And Erling Haaland, that exceptional goalscorer, helped spread the Norwegian naval salute celebration far and wide.

Spain were crowned champions on merit, becoming the first nation in history to hold both the men's and women's World Cups at the same time.

Several national teams achieved historic results despite a few dull matches. Canada won their first ever knockout match. Mexico won at the same stage and pushed England until the final moments in a clash many rated as the best of the entire tournament.

Emphatic against Paraguay, the United States dominated their group. They won three matches at a World Cup for the first time, scored 11 goals as the highest tally in their history, and captured the hearts of the country in a way the men's team had never managed before.

Those post-match scenes in Seattle after the win over Australia said it all. The entire city seemed to sing the country roads song along with the players, embodying the atmosphere United States fans had dreamed of for decades.

FIFA's ubiquitous and inevitable overreaches cast a shadow over everything good about this tournament. The matches. The emotions. The beautiful bonds formed between the teams, the cities, the fans and the visitors. Those overreaches proved extremely painful and undeniable.

Some organisational decisions betrayed a clear scramble for money. Take the mandatory match stoppages, which for the first time allowed a sport long cherished for its fluidity to carry commercial advertisements during play.

Darker and more ambiguous moments opened doors that may prove impossible to close. President Donald Trump and the American government stepped in to help the United States Soccer Federation clear attacking star Folarin Balogun to play, despite an automatic suspension.

Such events struck directly at the fans' trust in the game, a quality FIFA already struggles to hold onto. Nobody yet knows the long-term impact. This tournament set new precedents, many of which may sit uncomfortably with all parties in future.

The past month delivered an overwhelming mix of emotions in the authentic American style, with plenty of positives and beauty. The love story between the Scottish fans and the city of Boston. Kansas embracing the Algeria national team. Lionel Messi and Argentina settling matches in the dying moments in front of everyone. Cristiano Ronaldo scoring in his farewell appearance. Fuzinia and the Cape Verde national team emerging from nowhere to become among the stars of the tournament.

The negatives, though, piled up. There was the whole Folarin Balogun crisis, the tangled calculations and convenient results in the third round after eight third-placed teams reached the knockout stages, and the plight of Iran, at war with one of the host nations and left in the dark over when or how their team would travel to play its matches. Add to that the fans priced out by dynamic ticketing, with FIFA pocketing commissions on every sale in the secondary market.

Money proved the most powerful force in the game, as it always does, and this tournament showed it for better and worse. The vast sums generated will help FIFA spread football to parts of the world that need it. They will also keep the commercial machine running without pause, whether through advertising, half-time shows or an expansion to 64 teams.

Whatever you make of this event, wonderful or gaudy, astonishing or absurd, cinematic or corrupt, the final numbers point to one conclusion. FIFA and the United States will share the organisation of another tournament soon, perhaps in 2038, and nothing will change that, for good or ill.

Expect the mood at the end of that next tournament to mirror the one felt by fans across the world this time around.

This World Cup closed on a strange consensus: astonishing and appalling all at once. Yet the crowds already can't wait to do it all again.