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We’re not even two-thirds of the way into the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but the early verdict is in. The stadiums are as electric as they are packed. The goals are flying in. Fans from every corner of the globe are mingling, partying together, transforming the downtown areas of cities across the continent into street parties. Superstars are scoring at will, seemingly trying to out-do one another with each passing match. The USA won its first two matches and its group with a game to spare. Same for Mexico, with Canada — the third co-host — cruising to its first World Cup victory. Some of the smallest nations on earth are holding their own against former champions. This has been a spellbinding tournament by any measure possible. And for my money, it might already be the greatest World Cup ever staged. Recency bias is real, to be sure. The sheer quality of play was probably higher four years ago in Qatar, where the planet’s biggest sporting event took place in the middle of the European season as opposed to after it. The players were fresher. They didn’t travel between matches, with all 64 taking place in or on the outskirts of Doha. That World Cup was also capped by easily the best final of all time, with the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi, finally hoisting the only trophy that had eluded him to cement his GOAT status forever. There’s still a long way to go at this World Cup. It hasn’t been perfect. Tickets remain unaffordable for many soccer lovers. The mid-half hydration breaks, although necessary either because of blazing temperatures or for the sake of competitive consistency, can disrupt the flow of the game. There have been transportation issues and inconsistent messaging. Yet for all the negativity that surrounded the lead up to the first 48-team World Cup ever played, even the most cynical observers — if they have eyes — must know in their hearts that it has been an outstanding event so far. Most of the critics are awfully quiet now. The numbers to date are staggering. The group stage this summer has averaged 65,000 fans — more than 10,000 more than the entirety of Qatar 2022. That figure will only increase when the knockout stage contests begin and bigger venues get the bulk of them, putting the all-time mark of almost 69,000 (set the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994) in jeopardy. Through the first 32 matches at this World Cup, the 16 venues across all three host countries have been filled to more than 99.5 percent of capacity. Despite fears, players have lauded the pristine grass fields, if they’ve mentioned the surfaces at all. Three goals per game have been scored on average, the most in 23 men’s World Cups. Some of that no doubt has to do with inviting 16 more participating nations than took part at any previous World Cup — another of the purists’ favorite pre-tourney beefs. They were wrong about that, too. Is there a better on-field story than Cape Verde, the tiny West African island nation with a population of about 500,000 and World Cup debutant that remains undefeated despite facing title-favorite Spain and former two-time champ Uruguay in its first two outings? Is there a better off-field story than Scotland’s fans? The Tartan Army took over Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, and, despite literally drinking the former dry, so endeared themselves to the normally parochial locals — in part by donating $10,000 to Hasbro Children’s Hospital — that Massachusetts Senator Paul Feeney proposed that the Scots return to Foxborough for an annual exhibition. Meanwhile, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has petitioned the NFL to play a regular season game at Glasgow’s Hampden Park. The game’s brightest lights have balled out at every turn. Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland each scored twice on Monday; Messi’s second in a 2-0 victory over Austria made him the top goalscorer, men’s or women’s, in World Cup history. On Tuesday, 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo had a brace of his own, becoming the first man or woman to find the net at six World Cups. On a purely human level, in an increasingly divided world, this World Cup has been a display of shared joy and a reminder that we’re all more similar than different, wherever we happen to come from. A German tourist’s warm welcome in the American South went viral before the first ball had even been kicked. The people of Lawrence, Kansas, were so honored that Algeria decided to base its squad in their small city that they immediately adopted the Fennecs as their own. I could go on. It all makes you wonder, what’s next? Can the U.S. squad keep winning and creating millions of new supporters in real time? Can Messi lead Argentina to back-to-back titles, something no country has done since Pelé managed it with Brazil more than 60 years ago? Or might Portugal become the first new champion in nearly two decades, completing Ronaldo’s trophy case in the process? Lamine Yamal got his first World Cup goal on Sunday; how many more are in store for the 18-year-old before the competition wraps up in the New York area next month? Come to think of it, it would probably be harder to argue that this isn’t the most incredible World Cup ever. Here’s the best part: With almost four weeks left until billions tune in for that grand finale on July 19, it’s still just getting started.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

If college football held a fantasy quarterback draft and you owned the No. 1 overall pick, who would you take? That’s the exercise FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt tackled on a recent episode of his podcast, “The Joel Klatt Show.” When creating his list, Klatt weighed talent, experience and the supporting cast each passer has around him heading into the 2026 season. Here’s a look at Klatt’s top quarterbacks entering the 2026 college football season, ranked from 10-to-1. Klatt: I think Leavitt is going to have a great season. He was banged up last year at Arizona State, which is why some people might not remember what a good player he is. He went 16-4 at ASU and made the CFP two years ago. He can throw it and run it. He averaged 50 rushing yards per game at ASU. Lane Kiffin is going to use him really well.I think we’re going to get to this season, LSU is going to play Clemson, and we’re going to realize how good of a roster LSU actually has. Granted, it’s probably the most expensive roster in college football, but with Leavitt and his experience, his ability to throw it down the field and run the football, he could have a huge year. Kiffin’s quarterbacks light up the stat sheet. Think about Trinidad Chambliss last year, and Jaxson Dart the year before that. He’s going to have a really successful year. Klatt: I think that Hoover at Indiana is a tremendous fit. He has a ton of experience, and he threw it all over the field at TCU. Hoover averaged over 300 yards per game throwing the football in his 31 starts for Sonny Dykes. The guy is certainly willing to go out there and produce at a high level. I think higher of Hoover than I did of Fernando Mendoza or Kurtis Rourke going into their lone season at Indiana. He’s in a better position to start the year than either of the two previous QBs, and we saw what they were able to do, including one of the great seasons we’ve seen in a long time from Mendoza a year ago.Nobody threw more RPO passes than Mendoza a year ago in college football. Second on that list was Hoover, so, he does what Indiana is going to do, and they have Mike Shanahan back as offensive coordinator. They’ve got Curt Cignetti there. He’s got a good core of wide receivers. Everyone has pointed to the turnovers from Hoover, who has thrown 33 interceptions over the last three years, but he’s going to have a better run game and a better defense than he did a year ago or in previous seasons at TCU. Cignetti and Shanahan can coach up scheme. Indiana has the fewest amount of interceptions per game in the country since those two guys got there. I think Hoover can curb those interceptions, and he’s going to have a great year. Klatt: Mensah is at his third school in three years, starting at Tulane, then Duke, and now in Coral Gables. He led Duke to the ACC title a year ago. He’s not afraid to rip it. When you couple a guy that is willing to chuck it down the field like Mensah with a team that likes to run to football, now you get some play-action passes. Mensah is different than Carson Beck, who was typically just trying to get the ball out quickly. This year, I think Miami is going to be able to attack down the field with a little bit better efficiency. The Hurricanes are going to pair Mensah up with Malachi Toney, who is an incredible player. They will have Mark Fletcher in the backfield behind him and a really good offensive line, even with some of those draft picks leaving. I think they are going to be just fine. Mensah is going to have a really solid year. Klatt: Maiava is a huge player at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds. He can run around when he needs to, although he doesn’t have to, because he has such great anticipation and touch in the middle parts of the field. He’s going to have to replace two really good players in Ja’Kobi Lane, as well as their slot receiver, Makai Lemon, who was absolutely phenomenal. Maiava is going into his third year in Lincoln Riley’s offense. He led the country in 25-yard passes last year. He’s going to have to find some guys on the outside, but I think we trust Riley and his history to find wide receivers that can go get it on the outside. He’s going to have his entire offensive line back from a year ago and his entire backfield. Waymond Jordan was tremendous before his injury, and King Miller came in and ran the football really effectively after Jordan’s injury. I think Maiava could have a huge year. Klatt: I was really high on Mateer last year and everything was all-systems-go before the hand injury. That obviously derailed his season and Oklahoma’s offense. I don’t love the fact that Mateer had to be everything for that offense last year. As dynamic as he was, that was unsustainable. The Sooners need to get better and more efficient around him, especially on the offensive line and at running back. If they can run the football more effectively with their backs, he’s going to really flourish and certainly could make a push for the Heisman Trophy. Before he got hurt, Mateer was leading the country in 20-yard completions. He has his No. 1 wide receiver, Isaiah Satenga, who is a guy that can go get it for him. He’s in Year 3 as a starter in Ben Arbuckle’s offense. I think that should serve him really well, in particular being in his second year in the SEC, seeing some of these teams. I think Mateer is going to have a quality year. Klatt: Carr is a really talented player. The biggest question surrounding Notre Dame is its ability to replace the offensive production it got from the run game. When you have two guys drafted in the first round — Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love — that’s going to hurt you. Notre Dame’s offensive line should be outstanding this year, and the Irish are going to have great players on the outside. They could be a more throw-oriented team than we’ve seen in past years, and Carr could certainly be the beneficiary of that. They have a couple of transfers who are really talented players, in particular Quincy Porter from Ohio State. The people in Columbus loved Porter. He’s a guy that could really break out for Notre Dame. Carr, in this offense, could have a big year. He’s certainly talented enough to do that. Klatt: How good was Chambliss in that run to the CFP semifinals last year? I get it, he’s going to be missing his offensive staff and some of those players that he had. However, he’s electric. I love watching Chambliss play this position. He’s got great leadership qualities, and he’s obviously great as a player. Against Georgia in the playoff, Chambliss had to be great, and he was. He had over 350 yards against the Bulldogs. He can definitely be a threat with his legs, but he’s absolutely capable of ripping it down the field. I think Chambliss could have been a first-round draft pick a year ago. He’s a fantastic player. Klatt: Sayin was a Heisman finalist a year ago. He was the most efficient passer in the country. There are two things that I think held Sayin back a year ago: The first one was that he was, at times, a little hesitant to let it rip down the field. He’s going to have a stable of people to throw to this year. He’s going to have an offensive line that is more experienced, and the Buckeyes should have a run game that’s more efficient with Bo Jackson back. My only other knock on Sayin is that he wasn’t Will Howard in the short running game, where he could just run it on fourth-and-short and get a first down. He struggled on the quarterback sneak, and it hurt them offensively because they weren’t great in short yardage. I don’t know if that’s necessarily going to improve, although I have heard and seen that Sayin has done a lot of work in the weight room, and he’s a little bit bigger. If he can just be proficient in the sneak game, that will help the entire offense.Ryan Day designs so many quality plays, and there are times when Sayin just plays safe and checks it down. If he lets it rip, he’s going to have a huge season. That could be one of, if not the best offenses in the country at Ohio State. Klatt: I love what I saw from Manning in the second half of the year. The early part of the season was a struggle for him and the entire Texas offense. They did not run the football well enough. Their offensive line wasn’t good enough. Their backs weren’t good enough. And because of that, I thought the pressure was on Manning. As good as the Longhorns’ wide receiver core has been in recent vintage, it wasn’t that last year. It should be a lot better this year, in particular, with Cam Coleman. I think Coleman might have a monster year for Texas. He hasn’t panned out like Jeremiah Smith has, in part because he was stuck at Auburn, but now he’s with Steve Sarkisian, who is going to dial it up.Texas has rebuilt its running back room. They’ve got Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers. If this team can get anything in the run game, that’s going to help Manning. We know that he can be dynamic with his legs and throw it down the field. I think this offense is going to take a huge step forward, and they’re going to need to because there wasn’t a lot surrounding Manning a year ago. They have to be better on the offensive line and in the backfield. If they are, then Manning is going to have a big year. Klatt: I know he made that massive mistake in the CFP last year, throwing that pick-six to D’Angelo Ponds. But this guy has experience, and he has gifts that you just can not teach. He has mobility and the ability to rip it down the field. He can make every single throw out there. Moore ranked in the top five in the nation in completion percentage a year ago at 72%, so he can be efficient. Now that he has two CFP starts under his belt, this is the exact type of guy that you would want under center going into the season, in particular with a team that is veteran around him. Moore had a lot of really talented players around him last year, but they were banged up. Oregon should be better on the outside at wide receiver this year. The running backs are tremendous, and the defense should be outstanding.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports