The 2026 World Cup is done, the dust has settled, and the time for honest reckoning has arrived. Spain lifted the trophy, Rodri took home the Golden Ball, and Mbappé walked away with the Golden Boot — but not everyone who shaped this tournament deserves a winner's medal. Some of them deserve something considerably less flattering.
Spain Got What They Earned — Others, Not So Much
Let's start with the good. [Spain's triumphant return home](/getohedz/football/spain-world-cup-champions-return-home-for-parade) told you everything about how thoroughly they dominated this tournament. [Rodri's Golden Ball](/getohedz/football/rodri-wins-golden-ball-as-spain-dominate-awards) wasn't a consolation prize or a sentiment vote — it reflected a Spain side that were simply the best team at the tournament, by some distance. They swept the individual awards because they swept the competition. Hard to argue with any of that.
[Mbappé's Golden Boot](/getohedz/football/frances-mbapp-wins-golden-boot-ahead-of-messi) — ten goals ahead of Messi — was equally deserved. Whatever France's tournament looked like as a collective, Mbappé did his job at a level almost nobody else managed. Credit where it's due.
But for every story that ended cleanly, there's one that left a foul taste. And at the top of that list, with some distance between him and everyone else, sits Gianni Infantino.
The Man Who Made It About Himself
Infantino earned an F. That's the verdict doing the rounds, and we're not going to argue against it. The FIFA president spent a tournament held across three North American nations treating the whole event as a personal vanity project rather than a celebration of the sport. The games, the players, the fans — all of it seemed secondary to his need to be front and centre at every opportunity.
It's worth remembering that this tournament didn't exist in a vacuum. [Human rights organisations were questioning the integrity of the World Cup](/getohedz/football/human-rights-body-question-world-cup-integrity) even as it was being played. Those were serious, legitimate concerns that deserved serious, legitimate responses. What they got instead was a FIFA president more interested in the spectacle of his own presence than in addressing the sport's deeper problems.
The administration around this tournament was chaotic at points. The ticketing situation was a mess — [the cheapest last-minute final ticket hit $10,000](/getohedz/football/cheapest-wc-final-last-minute-ticket-is-10000), pricing out ordinary supporters while the suits filled the best seats. None of that happened by accident. These are structural failures that trace back to the top.
Infantino's defenders will point to record viewing figures and the general success of North America as a host. Fine. But success in spite of your leadership isn't the same as success because of it. The tournament thrived where football itself thrived — in the moments on the pitch, in the communities that turned up for it. Infantino's contribution was largely to get in the way and take credit.
Our Verdict
Spain were brilliant. Mbappé was exceptional. The tournament itself, in terms of the football, gave us plenty to remember. But the people running FIFA remain the sport's biggest unresolved problem, and Infantino's conduct throughout this World Cup only confirmed it. An F is generous, frankly.