In my household, fútbol (or soccer, I guess, cause we are in the US) is a way of life. The World Cup, which has officially returned to the United States for the first time since 1994, has been a long time coming. I was already expecting to tune into every game, no matter the time, to make sure that I didn’t miss a single moment. However, it soon became clear that this tournament was different than the ones I’ve witnessed before, especially as most of my friends who never tuned into a regular season game started to do the same.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup brought some new rules and regulations, like it always does, but one major change to the format is the expansion from 32 teams to 48. This allowed for some smaller countries to make their World Cup debuts: Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan.

While I attended the France vs. Senegal game at New York / New Jersey Stadium, it was clear that the crowd was there for France, one of the favorites to win it all thanks to superstar Kylian Mbappé. However, it didn’t matter which jersey you had on that day, that crowd absolutely roared for Senegal as they scored a goal, even if the game ended at 3-1.

When Curaçao, the smallest nation by both population and area to qualify for the tournament, faced off against Ecuador, Curaçao goalkeeper Eloy Room immediately become a worldwide superstar after 15 saves, the most in a 90-minute match, giving the country their first point ever in the tournament. While goalkeepers are widely written off due to being seen as the final defense of a team, this time around, they have become heroes.

The next day, Cape Verde went up against two-time winner Uruguay in a match that ended in another draw, 2-2. To put things in perspective, Uruguay’s population is six times as much as Cape Verde. And, yet, the two were neck and neck on one of the grandest stages of all time.

Cape Verde’s goalkeeper Josimar Dias gained over 14 million followers since the beginning of the tournament, particularly after keeping the score 0-0 against the likes of Spain. The 40-year-old currently plays for a Liga Portugal 2 team—not even the top league for the country—but he kept himself cool under the pressure against players who were raised under the shadows of teams like FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF. The public let their voices be heard after it was revealed that his mother wasn’t able to watch the first match live at the stadium due to visa issues. She was there to witness his second World Cup match.

In a tournament where the same few teams get named champions, it’s refreshing to see smaller teams not only face off against giants, but prove themselves to be just as good as them. In a David vs. Goliath kind of story, fans love to root for an underdog and there’s no doubt that some of these teams just gained some new fans. My friends cannot stop texting me asking me for clarifications on offsides (it’s complicated) and their excitement over some of these surprising moments.

This is what the World Cup and soccer is all about. It’s bringing the world together to watch the most beautiful game. Anyone can play it. And this time, it feels like anyone can take home the trophy.