Onto the knockout round: 4 takeaways from the FIFA World Cup so far

U.S. forward #20 Folarin Balogun celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's third goal during their opening World Cup group match against Paraguay in Inglewood, Calif. on June 12, 2026. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The worries before the World Cup were many. There were the visa wait times , the ticket prices , anxieties over hotel rooms and public transit , and countless battles between FIFA and local organizing committees. Now, with the group stage done and the knockout round set to begin Sunday, it is time to declare: The North American World Cup has been a success. No doubt there were visitors who were turned away , would-be attendees who could not afford tickets, and hotels and local businesses who feel the promised bump in tourism hasn't materialized. But overall, the stadiums have been full, even for matchups that seemed lackluster on paper: nearly 70,000 people packed into stadiums to see games like Cape Verde-Saudi Arabia, Algeria-Jordan and Bosnia and Herzegovina-Qatar. And for headliner events, the environment has been top-tier, like at the U.S.-Australia game in Seattle and in Kansas City for Lionel Messi's historic hat trick for Argentina. Visitors and hosts alike have been dazzled by the scenes. Kansas City was swarmed with tens of thousands of Dutch fans for a pre-game march . Boston was besieged by the Tartan Army . …