FALSE 10: Sorry, who's playing?

Once upon a time, World Cup broadcasts followed a simple, gritty formula. A ball, a player in full sprint, a manager tearing his hair out, and a tight close-up of a shirtless, face-painted supporter screaming from the depths of his lungs.

Norway fans (©Getty Images)

Today, as we watch the 2026 World Cup unfold across North America, that formula has undergone a massive, Hollywood-style facelift. Television directors no longer glue their cameras to local fanatics who sold their cars just to buy a plane ticket. Instead, the main protagonists of live broadcasts and social media feeds have become people who probably couldn’t explain the offside rule to you if their lives depended on it, but perfectly know exactly which angle of their jaw looks best on camera. Welcome to an era where who is sitting in the VIP lounge has become far more important than who is actually sweating on the pitch.

The United States, Mexico, and Canada have delivered a tournament that relies far less on traditional football culture and much more on pure, unadulterated show business. Matches have effectively become an extension of the red carpet, and during broadcasts, we are constantly bombarded with celebrity sightings.

In this star-studded chaos, broadcast directors have completely lost their bearings. The stands are packed with actual football royalty—legendary former players and iconic managers who literally built the history of the sport—yet they are treated like background extras.

Even worse, the TV commentators are under so much corporate pressure to identify every "important" face that they no longer have a clue who they are looking at. As the camera pans through the luxury suites, a panicked commentator can be heard desperately trying to figure out if the guy with the diamond watch is an Oscar-winning actor, a forgotten 90s pop star, or just an eccentric crypto-billionaire who wandered into the stadium thinking he was attending the Super Bowl.

FALSE 10: Netflix producers, hear us out...

In Los Angeles, while the national team battles on the pitch, the camera instantly forgets the ball to catch Tom Cruise chatting in a luxury suite with David and Victoria Beckham. Just a few meters away, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt observe the match through designer sunglasses, while Ryan Reynolds passionately rallies the crowd, bringing his Wrexham-style football romance straight to the big stage. Football has been transformed overnight from "the most important of the least important things in the world" into the ultimate opening act for A-listers.

It isn’t just about traditional movie stars either. Directors hunt with equal fervor for TikTokers, YouTubers, and global pop sensations like LISA or Tyla, fully aware that a single frame of them with the stadium in the background will generate millions of clicks across social platforms.

MetLife Stadium or the venues in California no longer feel like football cathedrals; they feel like the sports edition of the Met Gala. This phenomenon brings a drastic shift in the very aesthetic of fandom. Traditional, raw football folklore is slowly retreating before airbrushed, heavily filtered content.

Influencers in luxury suites do not wear sweat-soaked jerseys or hold cheap beer in plastic cups; they wear stylized, custom-designed retro kits, sip champagne, and carefully adjust the ring light for their next Instagram Reel or TikTok Live.

TV networks have quickly adapted to the rules of the game, consciously using pop icons to expand their demographic. Football is no longer watched solely by those who live and breathe the sport, but also by millions of teenagers tuning in just to see what Paris Hilton is wearing or how Jay-Z reacts to a last-minute goal.

Yet, while this spectacle brings unparalleled glamour and unprecedented global visibility, it forces us to ask a difficult question: have we lost the very soul of the game in this relentless chase for famous faces?

When ticket prices skyrocket to accommodate this entertainment-first model, the stands cease to be a place for the working class and the true, lifelong devotees. They turn into an exclusive, gated community for the privileged.

When the director repeatedly prefers a tenth shot of a confused actor clapping at a random foul over a supporter crying tears of joy or despair in the upper decks, football loses its authenticity. Football has always been an empire of raw emotion, not a reflection of Hollywood spotlights.

Actors can rehearse lines, but they cannot fake the ancestral, heartbreaking passion of a real fan. As the tournament draws to a close, we can only hope that when the paparazzi lights dim and the influencers leave the lounges, the beautiful game will still remember how to belong to the people who built it.

By: MIHAJLO ZLAJIC

WORLD CUP - KNOCKOUT STAGE

Quarter-finals

Thursday

France - Morocco 2-0 (0-0)

/Mbappe 60, Dembele 66/

Friday

Spain - Belgium 2-1 (1-1)

/Ruiz 30, Merino 88 - De Ketelaere 41/

Sunday

00.00: (4.00) Norway (3.70) England (1.90)

04.00: (1.75) Argentina (3.50) Switzerland (5.50)

***odds are subject to change***