It’s time for ‘real’ football to take over the USA and prove that World Cup is 100 times bigger than Super Bowl

Christian Pulisic and Chris Richards won’t replace Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson in the American sports conversation.

But if the United States Men’s National Team makes a serious run in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, what should be the biggest sporting event in world history will become a pivotal breakthrough for soccer (best known as football) in the USA.

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For Super Bowl vs World Cup, it’s not close

Now that Super Bowl LX is finished, it’s time to move on to the real games.

An overwhelming 104 matches from June 11 through July 19 across America, Mexico and Canada, with England, France, Spain, Brazil, USMNT and 48 total teams battling for a trophy last raised by Lionel Messi and Argentina.

“It will be a fantastic event. It will be 104 Super Bowls in one month,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino exclusively told talkSPORT’s Will Gavin before Super Bowl LX.

“The world will stand still and observe the biggest global event that humanity has ever seen.”

That sounds amazing.

“Huge,” as the old GIF of current US President Donald Trump always says.

But true success will be defined by incredible competition, passion, pride, and fan and player safety from Mexico City and Toronto to Miami and Seattle.

Will 2026 World Cup be too big?

True success for the ‘biggest global event that humanity has ever seen’ will also make a recent social media debate look incredibly silly.

What is bigger: The Super Bowl or the World Cup?

Simple math and common sense prove how absurd that question is.

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The previous Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles set an American TV record with an average of 127.7 million viewers.

The 2022 World Cup Final that matched Messi and Argentina vs Kylian Mbappé and France in an all-time classic was viewed by almost 1.5 billion across the globe.

Debating the NFL versus the Premier League only has one ultimate answer.

As athletically magnificent as The Prem is, money rules all in our modern sports world — just ask FIFA and Infantino — and the National Football League financially obliterates the top level of the English football pyramid.

NFL wants more international growth

The NFL raked in $23 billion in 2024, while the Premier League’s revenue is in the $10bn range.

International expansion and Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime takeover are just the beginning of where the NFL hopes to be in a decade.

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The NFL will play nine games outside of America in 2026, and the master plan is for an 18th international game.

“The NFL and the Super Bowl are fantastic in terms of organization, in terms of entertainment, what they present, what they do for the people,” Infantino told talkSPORT, discussing what FIFA can learn from the NFL’s biggest annual game.

“I mean, everyone is enjoying being here. It’s not just the event, it’s not just the match itself, but everything that goes around it. This whole entertainment part is really fascinating to me.”

The recent Club World Cup — which featured Trump trying to share the stage with Chelsea — hinted at the ongoing evolution of the once-every-four-years World Cup.

Super Bowl after Super Bowl in Texas

The recent breakout of a USA and Israel war vs Iran highlights the tension that could shadow the 2026 World Cup, making the Super Bowl’s recent Bad Bunny controversy appear childish.

But when it comes to comparing professional American football vs international football, there is no comparison.

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One Super Bowl inside AT&T Stadium would be huge for Jerry Jones and the cities of Arlington and Dallas.

The Dallas-area is set to host nine World Cup matches, including a 2026 semifinal contest, while Houston is preparing for seven World Cup matches of its own.

“Obviously winning the World Cup would be a dream of mine. And what better time to do it on home soil?” Crystal Palace‘s Chris Richards, who began his youth soccer career in Dallas and Houston, exclusively told talkSPORT.

“I can’t even begin to describe what it’s going to be like. I’m just super excited for the moment.”

AT&T Stadium has a capacity of 94,000, according to FIFA, and became Netflix famous by hosting last year’s Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson debacle.

1994 World Cup led to creation of MLS

The Houston Texans‘ NRG Stadium, which is only 265 miles away from Jerry World, holds a capacity of 72,000.

That means more than 1 million international football supporters could watch 16 Texas-based matches in person — and that doesn’t count the other 88 World Cup matches spread across three geographically connected countries.

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Super Bowl LX recorded a crowd of 70,823 as Sam Darnold’s Seattle Seahawks dominated Drake Maye’s New England Patriots 29-13 before celebrities that included Lewis Hamilton, Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Jay-Z, Travis Kelce, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Pedro Pascal, Jon Hamm, Adam Sandler, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pratt and a booed Logan Paul. 

That sounds absolutely massive, until the Super Bowl is compared to the one sporting event in the world it can’t touch — the World Cup.

It’s a monumental task for the USA, Mexico, Canada, NFL stadiums and FIFA to successfully pull off.

From ‘Ted Lasso‘ to 6 am Premier League watch parties, the United States has been preparing for another World Cup for more than three decades.

“When you think about the last World Cup that was played in the US, it birthed the MLS,” Richards said.

“Maybe it’s the reason why my dad allowed me to pick up a soccer ball or why my mom allowed me to pick up a soccer ball when I was younger.”

If the 2026 World Cup is remembered for all of the unity and passion it created — instead of war, politics or a money grab — cramming 104 Super Bowls into one month will forever change how soccer is viewed in the United States and beyond.

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