It was as if Donald Trump had forgotten a World Cup was being played on American soil. With the glaring exception of the administration’s disgraceful treatment of the Iranian team, which was forced to shuttle back and forth to Mexico, the tournament had, as of early July, remained largely unaffected. All the controversies surrounding the World Cup at the outset — the extortionate ticket prices, FIFA’s unseemly relationship with despots and oligarchs, the specter of foreign fans being targeted by immigration officials — were muscled aside like so many defenders standing in the path of Erling Haaland. FIFA was putting on a superspectacle that, with 16 additional teams, had shown the greatest sporting contest on earth could get bigger and better. As Tom Brady posted on X, “Best World Cup ever????”

Trump, however, couldn’t resist putting himself at the center of attention. In a now-infamous intervention, he called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to argue that, in his studied opinion, the U.S. star striker Folarin Balogun had been unfairly red-carded in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, resulting in Balogun’s automatic suspension from the next one, against Belgium in the crucial Round of 16. A day before that game, FIFA reversed the suspension, to the absolute delight of American fans and the utter horror of almost everyone else. (Infantino denied in a statement that Trump’s call influenced the reversal decision.)

Here perhaps was the kind of nightmare many people had feared: the American president seemingly using his considerable influence with FIFA to rig the match. It was both pathetic (surely Trump has more important things to do) and a little scary. In the end, the U.S. crashed out of the tournament the way it usually does, in comically inept fashion. Balogun barely had an impact on the game; the Americans gave the ball away at every turn and were bullied by Belgians who were faster and stronger and seemingly extra motivated to kick some American butt. Balogun-gate served only to heighten the drama and the catharsis, and one almost suspects that........

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