Argentina celebrate winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the kind of moment that turns an ordinary watch party into an occasion and increasingly, one styled as carefully as the table itself. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

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As the World Cup tournament heats up, the drinks story is getting bigger too - from a billion extra pints to a new generation of match-night rituals that say as much about identity as they do about taste.

World Cup 2026 is still weeks away, yet the drinks economy around it is already seeing the uplift. Analysts estimate the expanded tournament will drive roughly 568 million extra litres of beer consumption worldwide (about 1 billion additional pints) lifting annual global beer volumes by around 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points in a market that has been searching for momentum. The international timezone helps as many matches involving European teams will land squarely inside traditional drinking hours, just as the competition stretches across three host countries that are themselves major beer markets.

The World Cup has always been one of those rare events that changes what people drink, where they drink it and how much ceremony they attach to the act. UK pub data from the last men’s World Cup showed draught volumes rising by 50% on the first major home-nations match day, with dwell time up by 11 minutes, enough to add another round and meaningfully alter spend per head. Among younger consumers, the effect is even sharper.

Yet the more interesting shift as well as sheer volume uplift. Tournament drinking is becoming more expressive. Consumers still want the communal beer, the ‘lucky lager’, the pub screen and the over-loud predictions. Increasingly, though, they also want a drink that says something about the team, the table and the tone of the evening. A watch party now has its own form of styling - and a nod to cultural tastes.

For Spain, an obvious high-end choice is Gin Mare, the Mediterranean gin founded in Vilanova i la Geltrú in 2010. Distilled with Arbequina olives, rosemary, basil and thyme, it carries exactly the sort of polished, sun-struck confidence that suits a side entering the tournament among the favourites. A standard gin and tonic would undersell it (even from the packaging alone) Gin Mare belongs in a balloon glass, lifted with rosemary and a strip of orange, served cold enough to feel architectural.

For France, the instinct is not complexity but poise. Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame, from a Maison founded in Reims in 1772, is one of those bottles that alters the room the moment it appears. France at a World Cup tends to carry a certain kind of expectation, elegance under pressure, brilliance available on demand, and the constant possibility that everything will suddenly become either sublime or mutinous. Celebrations are sure to be in style, whatever the score.

For England, the temptation is always nostalgia. Better, perhaps, to lean into craftsmanship. Sipsmith London Dry Gin, launched in 2009, helped re-establish copper-pot distillation and small-batch seriousness in the London gin revival. It suits a match night that wants to remain sharp rather than sentimental: a cold Martini before kick-off, a Tom Collins once the nerves settle, and enough structure in the bottle to stand up to all that hope. England is one of football’s great emotional propositions. Good gin helps and the for the perfect pour of the globally admired G&T, the brand suggests to mix as follows:

Ingredients

• 1 part Sipsmith London Dry Gin
• High-quality tonic water
• Twist or wedge of fresh lime, to garnish

Method

• Fill a highball glass with ice
• Pour in gin
• Top off with premium tonic, perhaps with the very British Fever Tree
• Garnish with a wedge of fresh lime

For Portugal, there is pleasure in avoiding the expected beer-and-shouting route entirely. Taylor Fladgate 20-Year-Old Tawny Port, from a house founded in 1692, is rich, layered and patient, the kind of drink that changes tempo. Portugal often brings exactly that energy to tournaments: technical control, maturity and the sense that the cleverest touch might arrive later rather than louder. Port also pairs beautifully with the sort of elevated match spread hosts now favour, hard cheeses, charcuterie, smoked almonds, perfect for grazing platters during extra time.

For Brazil, Novo Fogo Silver Cachaça offers something brighter and more alive than the standard supermarket spirit shelf. Founded in Paraná in 2004, the brand built its reputation in the U.S. craft market around organic production and a cleaner, more articulate version of cachaça than many drinkers first encountered in rushed Caipirinhas. This is the bottle for a watch party with music, crushed ice and enough limes to suggest someone has thought ahead.

For Argentina, there is no need to be shy about the obvious. Catena Zapata’s Catena Alta Malbec, from a winery founded in Mendoza in 1902, remains one of the most convincing arguments for Argentine wine as a luxury category rather than merely a steakhouse staple. High-altitude fruit, seriousness without stiffness, and enough authority to carry a dinner built around the match rather than alongside it. Argentina does drama naturally and a sophisticated Malbec understands pace.

All of this sits inside a much wider drinks market now learning to accommodate contradiction. Tournament football still drives huge alcohol volumes, and the big producers need it. Brewers including AB InBev, Heineken and Carlsberg are all looking to the World Cup to help offset structural pressure in traditional beer volumes. At the same time, moderation has become part of the same match-night culture rather than its enemy. Global sales of non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits reached nearly $20 billion in 2023, roughly double the level seen in 2019, and major groups have become far more deliberate about using big sporting moments to recruit new no-and-low consumers.

That is one reason tournament drinking has become more interesting rather than less. It is no longer one-note. One table may open Champagne. Another may build a round of premium Caipirinhas and the modern host is less interested in following the old rulebook than in creating a setting that fits the game, the guests and the mood.

The World Cup will still sell extraordinary quantities of beer - lets face it, it always does. But the larger commercial truth is that football’s biggest event now gives consumers permission to elevate their cultural experience and enhancement around it.

The drink, like the shirt, has become part of the selection. And for all the billion-pint headlines, that quieter shift may be the one with the longer legacy.