Spain was a fitting World Cup champion for American soil.
Following in the footsteps of the Knicks and Carolina Hurricanes — both of whom went 16-3 en route to capturing championships in the NBA and NHL, respectively, this spring — Spain was an equally dominant champion that outscored its opponents 14-1 in eight matches.
The Year of Playoff Dominance started with another 2026 domestic champion: The Super Bowl-winning Seahawks outscored their three playoff opponents by a total of 55 points.
Unlike in 1994, the World Cup didn’t come to the United States with the pressure to revolutionize American interest in soccer, which already can make a case to be the fourth-most popular sport at home.
